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Chapter Thirteen: The Most Unfortunate Alliance
"I'm going to do an interior scan, now," Billy said. "Sensors indicated that the shield is down."
"Feed the raw data into my dimension," Zordon instructed.
"Right," Billy said.
The thirteen teenagers looked up at their mentor's face. Zordon suddenly went very pale.
~*~
"Calm down, Zedd ol' boy," King Mondo said. "We know when we've been licked. Besides, you don't actually think we would try something with your mother here, do you?"
"I'm getting a headache," Rita muttered.
~*~
"They can't be any stronger than Jenga, right?" Zack asked.
"Correct," Zordon said. "However, they must have joined forces. King Mondo and Jenga each hold items that, when combined, can successfully destroy the planet."
"The cargo?" Billy asked.
"Yes," Zordon said.
"So, what's the cargo?" Bulk asked slowly.
"He won't tell us," Alpha said.
"You will be told when the time is right," Zordon said. "But now, Bulk and Skull. The time has come to welcome two new Rangers. To keep your Power, you must agree to three rules, one I am sorry to say we broke today.
"1. Never use your powers for selfish reasons.
"2. Only use your powers to defend, not attack.
"And 3. Do not let anyone know your identity."
"We will, Zordon," Bulk promised.
"One question," Skull said. "What do we tell our parents?"
"Well," Billy said, "they think you went to Paris. Let them keep on thinking that."
"Where will we stay?" Bulk asked.
"Join the ongoing party at my house," Jason volunteered. "We'll go get your things, and find someplace you can sleep."
"Uhm, Bulkie," Skull said. "I just thought of something. Everything we own is on it's way to Paris."
"Oh crud," Bulk muttered.
"It's okay," Alpha said. "As soon as the airplane lands, I can teleport your things here."
Bulk and Skull immediately relaxed. Then, the reality of the day finally caught up with them.
~*~
"I never thought this day would come," Bulk said. "Me, a Power Ranger."
"Where exactly is the Power Chamber?" Skull asked.
"About twenty miles out of the city, and about half a mile underground. We used to be on top, but an explosion about ten months ago destroyed the Command Center. It was rebuilt, but underground, so we don't have to worry about any more intruders," Billy explained.
"Okay," Bulk said. "I have another question. What is Zordon?"
"He's a powerful wizard who was fighting one of our enemies Rita Repulsa about ten thousand years ago. She trapped him in an alternate dimension, void of time, and that tube of green light is how he communicates with us," Kimberly explained.
"And Alpha?" Skull asked.
"Alpha Five is Zordon's assistant," Aisha said.
"Now, who exactly are the bad guys?"
"It used to be Rita Repulsa, Goldar, Squatt, Baboo, Scorpina, and Finster," Billy began. "Then, Lord Zedd kicked Rita out of the palace and took over. She came back about a year later, and then she and Zedd got married. Ivan Ooze was unearthed on June 30, 1995, and he trapped Lord Zedd and Rita in a snowglobe. We defeated Ivan Ooze, and Rita and Zedd were set free. After awhile, Rito Revolto and MasterVile showed up. Rito is Rita's brother, and MasterVile is their father. Then, back when the Command Center blew up, the Machine Empire arrived. They kicked Zedd and Rita off of the moon. About two months ago, Rita and Zedd blew the Machine Empire's Royal Family, and they finally moved back in last week. Then, Jenga came on the scene. She's Lord Zedd's mother, and the most evil person ever. And now, the Machine Empire has showed back up and they've all joined forces."
"Ivan Ooze is dead?" Skull asked.
"As dead as he can get," Aisha said. "You can't exactly kill a demon."
"But right now," Kimberly said, "he's just a few lumps of ooze floating around the solar system."
"We tricked him into flying into outer space with us," Billy said, "and then we got him in the path of Ryan's Comet."
"Hey," Skull suddenly asked, "will I get to drive DragonZord?"
"Well, we have DragonZord on remote," Billy said. "I could probably singularize the energy signature in order to get it to work in conjunction with your Dragon Dagger."
"Huh?"
"Yes," Jason said.
"What happened to the putties?" Bulk asked, "and where did those big birds come from?"
"Yeah, and then those metal guys?" Skull asked.
"Rito brought tengas, they replaced putties, and then King Mondo brought cogs," Kimberly said.
"Knock knock," Zack suddenly said from the front porch.
"Hey man," Jason said. "I thought you and Angela were gonna get something goin'."
"Nah," Zack said. "She just dropped by to say hi. I was hopin' though."
Kimberly and Aisha threw each other a quick, knowing glance. "Zack," Aisha said, "do you want to go somewhere? Tonight?"
"Why not," Zack said. She jumped to her feet, and the two teenagers left the house.
"Let's all go out," Kimberly said. "Somewhere, something." The other eleven Rangers got together and spent a night on the town.
~*~
"All but four," Jenga replied.
"Wait a minute," Queen Machina interrupted. "We only have three."
"What do you mean?!" Jenga cried, leaping to her feet. "I have nine, you have three. That doesn't add up to thirteen."
"We thought you had ten," King Mondo said, moving over to Jenga.
"I suppose we'll just have to go through with the plan as though we had all thirteen," Queen Machine said, flipping her fan open.
"It doesn't work like that," Jenga growled. "We have to activate all thirteen at once."
"Hey, Daddy," Prince Sprocket said, walking into the conference chamber with Klank and Orbus in tow. "I know what happened to the fourth one."
"What?" Queen Machina said.
"Gasket and Archerina wiped your memory banks and made you think you just had three and they took the other one."
"How do you know of this?" Jenga asked.
"Oh, they didn't think I saw them take it, but I did," Sprocket said proudly.
"I take it you and your eldest son still haven't made amends?" Jenga asked, although it was hardly a question. King Mondo's snort was all the answer she needed. "I'll take care of things," she said. "Klank, Orbus, please go tell Finster to send a message to Archerina and Prince Gasket. Tell them that Jenga requests their presence, immediately. Or else. And send them the code for the force field that will allow them to pass through my barrier."
"Aye Madam," Klank said.
"Now," Jenga said, her blue scepter appearing beside her. "Do Archerina and Prince Gasket have emotion chips?"
"Unfortunately," Queen Machina said.
"Well, in that case," Jenga said, "they can be hurt." She pointed her scepter at the table she and the Royal Family were standing around. Two shimmering, blue computer chips, about the size of a quarter, appeared. "These two chips will enable them to experience pain. As soon as they arrive, these chips will implant themselves into their bodies, and if they don't return with what rightly belongs to us, I will continually cause them pain."
"Excellent plan," King Mondo said. "If I had known Zedd was your son, I'd have asked to join forces."
Lord Zedd snorted from the other side of the door. Suddenly, pink and white light streaked into the Conference Chamber. "Jenga," Prince Gasket said. "I am here to serve you." He then caught sight of his family and turned away. The two computer chips suddenly flew from the table and attached to the two machines.
"What is this minor annoyance?" Archerina demanded.
"A pain chip," Jenga said. "We are under the impression that you stole something from your father. We want it back."
"I stole nothing," Prince Gasket said. He suddenly winced and dropped to his knees. "What is HAPPENING TO ME?!"
"It's called pain," Jenga said. "If you don't return it, immediately, the pain will increase. Continually. In twenty-four Earth hours, the pain will overwhelm your body, and you will self-destruct."
"We'll do what you want," Archerina said. "Please don't hurt him." White and pink light flooded the chamber, and Gasket and Archerina teleported out.
"I love the smell of burning cog oil in the morning," King Mondo said.
"Kind of makes me nauseous," Jenga complained.
"I'm bored," Prince Sprocket declared.
"Tell you what," Jenga said. "Go find Finster and tell him that I said he is going to make a monster for you, and you can take it to Earth and attack Angel Grove with it."
"All right!" Prince Sprocket. "Can I Dad?!"
"Of course, son," King Mondo said. "Have fun."
"Oh boy oh boy oh boy," Prince Sprocket said, running off to find Finster.
~*~
"No way," Prince Sprocket said. "Jenga said you were going to make a monster for me!"
"All right, please don't yell," Finster said. He pulled a glob of bluish-gray clay out of a bucket on the counter. "What do you want your monster to do?"
~*~
"Most likely," Billy answered, helping Aisha get breakfast ready.
"They sure were cool before they turned evil again," Skull said.
The entire kitchen paused. "What?" Kimberly asked.
"About the time the Zeo Rangers showed up," Skull said, "Rito and Goldar came to our garage and said they would be our servants if we would give them a place to live. All they knew about themselves was their names. Then, a few months ago, they got a package from Rita and Zedd, and they turned evil again."
"They stole our motorcycle," Bulk complained. "But they were fun, weren't they?"
"Yeah," Skull said.
"You two have always been in the middle of so many battles," Jason said. "Like when you two were teleported into Gasket's other dimension and helped rescue us by shutting the force field down so we could teleport out."
"And that time we lost our memories, and you saved us by throwing the prisms at the Kaleidoscope monster," Aisha said. "You discovered who we were that day, but his beam hit you and you forgot."
"I remember waking up," Bulk said, "but that's about it."
"And we've saved you no telling how many times," Kimberly said. "Like when Lord Zedd showed up."
"Or when you tried to open Rita's space dumpster," Billy said.
"Zordon and Alpha knew who you were before you showed up yesterday," Jason said.
"Guys," Bulk said, suddenly very serious. "I'm really sorry."
"We both are," Skull said.
"For what?" Kimberly asked.
"For the way we used to be," Bulk said. "You know, bullies."
"That was a long time ago," Billy said. He couldn't stop the flashback though. Getting beaten up on a nearly daily basis by the two. Cowering in a corner of the bathroom, getting pummeled by four fast-flying fists.
"I would give anything," Bulk said, "to go back and make amends to all of the people we have beaten up. Anything."
I'd give anything if I had stood up for myself, Billy added silently.
Six very familiar notes sounded on the six communicators in the small kitchen. "Do you ever get used to that?" Bulk asked.
"Eventually," Jason answered. "What is it, Zordon?"
"All rangers, please report to the Power Chamber at once," Zordon said.
"We're outta here," Aisha said, hurriedly pulling the pans off of their burners before teleporting out. Six streams of light, red, blue, pink, white, green, and black lifted out of the kitchen and disappeared.
~*~
"Ungh?" Rita Repulsa grunted. "Who was that?"
"AAAH!" Goldar screamed. He jumped away from their newest visitor, brandishing his sword like a samurai warrior.
"Where have you been?!" Rita shrieked.
"Sorry it took me so long to get back," Scorpina said. "I was on my honeymoon."
"Your married?" Goldar asked. Scorpina nodded. "YES!" Goldar shouted. He threw his sword aside. "You're married! AHAHAHAHA!" He immediately launched into a happy little dance. Scorpina had always been after him to marry her. The happiest day of Goldar's life was when Scorpina left to find Rita after Lord Zedd sealed her up in the space dumpster. "Who did you marry, exactly?" Goldar asked.
"Hello, Goldilocks," a male voice said. With a glimmer of light, her husband appeared in the doorway.
"Oh crap," Rita muttered. "Zedd!"
~*~
Finster stopped molding the clay and looked at the frantic hopping machine.
"Yeah! Yeah! And give it wings so it can fly! Great big insect wings! No! Bat Wings! YEAH! And, and then, uhm, wait a minute, no, wait, give it, uhm, give it, no wait a minute, uhm, give it a real long tail that it can knock buildings down with! And real sharp claws it can tear up the pavement with! Yeah! Do that Finster! Do that! Okay?! And make it blue, like me!"
"You listen to me, you little mechanical bucket of bolts," Finster said. "After your defeat, I am technically a more evil being than you are, and if you ever try and boss me around again, I will turn you into a fat computer geek's 14.4 modem! You got that?!" Finster sighed with relief. For the first time in twenty thousand years, he had thrown a fit. And it felt good.
"I'm gonna go tell Jenga," Prince Sprocket said, turning to leave the lab.
"No!" Finster said. "I'm sorry! I take it all back! I'll make your monster or die trying!"
"That's better," Prince Sprocket said. "If you make my monster right, I won't tell Jenga. I knew you'd buckle."
"Story of my life," Finster muttered to himself.
~*~
"It will take all of you combined to keep this beast from destroying the city," Alpha said. "I've managed to knock his teleport beam off course, and it was thrown about fifty miles into the desert. It's already full size, so you have to hurry your Zords out there and keep it from reaching civilization!"
"We can do this guys," Tommy said. "IT'S MORPHIN TIME!"
All thirteen Rangers, including the Zeo Rangers, pulled a shiny morpher out of thin air, complete with golden Power Coin.
"GREEN DRAGON - RABBIT!"
"WHITE TIGER - BEAR!"
"MASTODON - GIRAFFE!"
"PTERODACTYL - CRANE!"
"TRICERATOPS - WOLF!"
"SABER-TOOTH TIGER - DOVE!"
"TYRANNOSAURUS - COUGAR!"
"ZEO RANGER I, PINK - BUTTERFLY!"
"ZEO RANGER II, YELLOW - GAZELLE!"
"ZEO RANGER III, BLUE - APE!"
"ZEO RANGER IV, GREEN - FROG!"
"ZEO RANGER V, RED - FALCON!"
"GOLD RANGER POWER - LION!"
The thirteen Rangers teleported out of the Power Chamber and into the Holding Bay.
~*~
"Ground crew!" Jason shouted. "Cougar, Lion, Giraffe, Bear, Ape, charge!"
"Weapons Squadron!" Billy shouted, referring to those who weren't capable of winning a fight with brute strength. "Prepare Specialized Weapons!"
Trini, Katherine, Kimberly, and Tommy flew around Sprocket the Second, attempting to disorient the blue-skinned beast. Jason, Bulk, Zack, Aisha, and Rocky charged at the monster. Zack swung his Zord's long neck in the beast's path, causing it to trip. Aisha and Bulk rushed Sprocket II as it tumbled forward. It flipped completely over. Jason and Rocky rammed it in the side, sending Finster's creation rolling. Gazelle and Rabbit hopped toward the monster. Adam shot a silver tongue at Sprocket II. It wrapped around the beast's blue head, covering up all three eyes. Green electricity flowed down the tongue, shocking the beast enough to anger it but not do any serious damage. Billy had a vivid flashback to his and Adam's battle with Scorpitron, and jumped at Sprocket II's tail. He clamped down on the long, powerful tail. Sprocket II screamed in anger, and lashed it's tail up in the air. The WolfZord was flung back and forth, but didn't unclench.
"Hey Tanya," Skull said. "What kind of special attack does a Rabbit do?"
"You're keeping your mind closed, Skull," Tanya said. "It happened to all of us when we first started. Just relax and let go. Let the Power tell you what to do."
"Right," Skull whispered in reply.
The yellow Gazelle raced at Sprocket II. When it was about two hundred yards away, it stopped. The two, long silver horns atop it's head were launched at Sprocket II. They were connected to the Zord by a long, silver chain. The two horns wrapped around the tail. Tanya was careful not to snag Billy in the process. When she saw it was clear, she pressed the large red button on the console before her. The two horns immediately began to burn red hot. "All right, Eugene," Skull said. "I don't know if this was what Rabbit was built for, but I'm gonna do it." The green and silver Rabbit leaped forward in huge bounds. He got closer to Sprocket II than any of the other Zords, except Billy, had attempted.
"Skull!" Bulk shouted. "You're new at this! Back off!"
"I have to!" Skull replied. The Rabbit's head reared back and the mouth opened wide. Four sharp teeth, two at the top and two at the bottom, gleamed in the early morning sunlight. Before losing his courage, he put the Zord through it's movements. Rabbit firmly bit down into Sprocket II's side.
"You go Skull!" Kimberly cried.
"Attaboy Eugene!" Bulk shouted. The Rabbit was suddenly acting more like a rabid dog than a rabbit. It was shaking its head violently, trying to cause even more damage. There was no bleeding of any type, but Skull was pretty sure he was doing harm to the beast, judging by its horrific screams.
"I've got an idea!" Trini cried. "We four flying Zords can circle around and come in at it from all four directions. If the Ground Zords are at a safe distance firing as well, all thirteen of us should decimate this thing in no time!"
"It's a plan," Billy said. "Skull, Adam, Tanya. Let's disengage!"
"Ground crew!" Jason shouted. "Be ready to charge if Sprocket II tries to get away."
"You got it!" Zack shouted. He could see everything from his cockpit. He was eighty feet straight up in the air, and could see into the heart of Angel Grove, a good sixty miles away. Unfortunately, he also discovered that the Power did little to protect from feeling overwhelmed from the great height. The MegaZord was much taller than eighty feet, but it had a broad base which didn't make it seem quite as ominous.
Dove approached from the west, Butterfly from the east, Tommy flew in from the south, and Kimberly from the north. The nine ground based Zords watched as Sprocket II slowly tried to get from his feet. "FIRE!" Tommy shouted. An entire barrage of lasers of all different colors landed on the blue monster. It was Finster's most powerful monster, yet also the one taken down in probably the shortest Zord battle ever. Blue clay flew everywhere as Sprocket II exploded.
"Man," Jason said, "it's a shame we haven't always had thirteen Zords."
"Being a Ranger is easy," Skull said. "Heck, this is kind of fun."
"I wouldn't go that far," Kimberly said. "Let's head back, guys."
~*~
"Oh hush, dear," Queen Machina said from the doorway. "Jenga only had Finster make you a monster to tie up the Rangers so she could execute her plan."
"The one about my lame-o brother and his retard wife?" Sprocket whined.
"I do not want to hear you speak that way ever again," Queen Machina snapped. "Don't say retard. Say mentally challenged. And no, it was a different plan."
"Sorry Mom," Sprocket said. He walked off into Zedd's palace's corridors, pouting.
"Well, Finster," Queen Machina said, "thank you for keeping Sprocket occupied."
"Certainly ma'am," Finster said. A sudden cacophone of screams, grunts, yells, and bellows burst from the main palacial room.
"We should go see what that is," Queen Machina said, hurrying away from the small laboratory.
"Yes, I suppose we should," Finster sighed.
~*~
Billy powered down, and ran over to the console. He ripped a print-out from the printer and looked at the numerical code on the white sheet of paper. "Oh crap," Billy said.
"What is it man?" Jason asked.
"Jenga is sending out thousands of complete packets of the information on how to construct that green force field that lets ships pass through the barrier around the galaxy," Billy said. "It's also got a detailed message in it, but it's not in English. It's some weird computer language."
"Done," Alpha interrupted. "She has finally stopped sending the messages."
"Alpha," Zordon said. "How many data bundles did Jenga transmit?"
"Five thousand, eight hundred, and ninety-three," Alpha said. "Why, Zordon?"
"There are 5,897 distinct allied groups in the United Alliance of Evil," Zordon explained. "I suspect that Jenga is sending a message to all other beings of evil in the universe. Alpha, have the computer decipher the computer language message."
"Right, Zordon," Alpha said.
"But there are four other groups that she didn't send the signal to," Tanya said. "Why?"
"The other four groups are Jenga and her crew, MasterVile and his henchmen, Rita and Zedd, and the Machine Empire," Zordon explained.
"The ones that are already here," Zack complained.
"The computer has analyzed the message," Alpha said. "Playing now."
"Greetings, beings of evil," Jenga's voice said. "MasterVile, Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd, and family, along with the Machine Empire, have joined forces with me to obtain possession of a powerful set of crystals that will destroy all forces of good in the universe. Among them, the hated Zordon of Eltare. These crystals will also destroy all morphing capabilities currently in existence. There are currently thirteen Rangers protecting Earth. We need your help. If you do not come and help us, you will be destroyed. For those of you who don't know me, I am Queen Jenga of the Xett Empire, the most evil being in existence. I have recently married MasterVile, the current second most evil being, and we have allied with the Machine Empire, previously ranked third. We urge you to cooperate, not for fear of your lives, but because if we succeed, this universe will, at long last, be ruled by the forces of evil. I promise I will be a just queen, once the Earth Crystal is in my possession. The force field I have sent you will grant you admittance into the Milky Way Galaxy, as well as Earth's Solar System. Jenga out."
"All evil in the universe," Katherine whispered.
"Here to attack us," Trini finished. "The thirteen of us."
"We picked the wrong day to join this club," Skull muttered to Bulk.
~*~
Scorpina yanked out of his grip. "Frankly, I don't care what you think," Scorpina said. "But he's already told me about the bad blood between you two, and he's prepared to make amends."
"Amends, huh?" Lord Zedd asked.
"Zedd," Jenga said, "you are going to go out there and apologize to your guest for throwing such a hissy-fit. Then, you are going to welcome him and Scorpina and tell them of our plans to destroy the Earth. Got it?"
"Yes mother," Lord Zedd growled.
~*~
"Yes," Prince Gasket said. "We received your message transmission."
"Excellent," Jenga said. "In forty-eight hours, all evil will have been notified, and in a week, they will all be here to help us fight."
"Well, enough chit-chat," King Mondo said. He turned back to Rita Repulsa. "If you don't mind, would you please show me how this telescope of yours works. I can't quite seem to get it to focus right."
~*~
"Lord Zedd," Scorpina said sweetly. "I know you and Ivan aren't exactly on the best of terms."
The demon slowly turned to look at the yellow and black clad warrior. Aside from the hideous black claw that took the place of her left forearm, she was a very attractive woman, seemingly Japanese in heritage. "You could say that," Lord Zedd muttered.
"He really is sorry about that," Scorpina said. "But think about it. Wouldn't you be cranky if you spent six thousand years in a hyperlock chamber?"
"Oh don't even go there," Rita said from somewhere in the distance, reminding Scorpina of her ten thousand years in the Space Dumpster.
"Six thousand years is a nap where I come from," Lord Zedd said.
"Yeah, but he had just been defeated by Zordon's first team of Power Rangers, and it was kind of a crushing blow to his ego," Scorpina whispered. "He was more than a little bit cranky when he got out, because he had great plans for Earth. He had this map he had stolen from some good lady before he was locked away. What was her name? Ranch? Italian? Bleu Cheese?"
"Those are salad dressings!" Lord Zedd bellowed.
"Whatever," Scorpina said. "Anyway, he stole this map from her, and it told of thirteen special magical Crystals hidden on Earth. It didn't say what the Crystals were, or what they did, but he had every reason to believe that they were very powerful."
"Thirteen crystals?" Lord Zedd asked. "Does he still have the map?"
"Yeah," Scorpina said. "That's why we came back. He was going to show it to Rita's dad, because he figured MasterVile would be the highest ranked demon he could get ahold of. But, we found a message at MasterVile's domicile in M-51, and it led us here. Imagine our surprise to find that Jenga is here as well. Did you know Ivan Ooze and your mom almost got married about six hundred thousand years ago?"
"Right after Dad was defeated," Lord Zedd said. "Yeah, I know. But the map."
"Why is everybody here?" Scorpina asked, ignoring Lord Zedd's every word. "Some kind of party?"
"If you would shut up I'll tell you," Lord Zedd spat out. "We are after thirteen very powerful Earth Crystals. If Ivan Ooze's map is the map to the Earth Crystals...."
"I'll go get him," Scorpina said.
"Mom!" Lord Zedd shouted. "I have good news!"
"Thousand Island? What was her name?!"
~*~
"I already told you!" Goldar growled. "I say we just trash the thing!"
"And destroy all of those years worth of memories?" Rito asked.
"We spent sixteen days in this piece of junk," Goldar reminded him. "What memories?"
"Oh yeah," Rito said. "Well, I can use it for spare parts or somethin'. I know! I'll make an Alpha Six!"
Goldar kicked the rear bumper of the mobile home. "You moron!" he shouted. "You can't make a robot out of a mobile home." Both henchmen watched as the vehicle slowed rolled away.
"AAAAH!" Rito shouted. "I'll be right back!" He burst into black flames as he teleported to the castle.
~*~
"Oh my goodness," Jenga breathed. She turned to look at King Mondo. "We're really going to win this time."
Rito materialized behind the table. He spied the large glass blocks. "This'll do," he said to himself. He picked one up, and vanished again in black fire. No one saw him come or leave.
~*~
Rito turned around and saw the massive, green warship behind him. "Uh oh!" Rito shouted. He glanced down at the block briefly. Well that's just plain weird, he thought to himself. A map of Cairo, Egypt. Oh well. It'll at least make a good speed bump. He set the block down in the moon dust and jumped back. When he was a safe distance away, he pointed his Sword at the block. Mustering up all the magic he had, he fired a white bolt of energy at the block. It immediately grew to about four feet square. The mobile home rolled into the large glass block. The front end of the mobile home dented in as the glass block exploded into tiny fragments. The vehicle slowly turned around backwards and toppled over, breaking every window in it. "Whew," Rito said. "I'm glad nothing important got broken."
~*~
"What's not funny?" he asked.
"Where's number thirteen?"
"It's at the back of the table," Ivan said, examining the map to number twelve.
"It's not here!" Jenga said. "Look for yourself." She placed her hand where it should have been, and suddenly knew.
"Rito," she growled.
~*~
The thirteen Rangers looked at each other. The fate of the human race rested in their hands.
Chapter Fourteen: The Anti-Earth Crystals
"You really screwed up this time, Rito," Goldar said.
"How was I supposed to know it was important?!" Rito whined. "Mr. Ooze shouldn't have left it lying around where children can get ahold of it!"
"It's wasn't lying around!" Jenga screeched. "And you aren't a child!"
"That's debatable," Rita said.
"Did you at least look at the map before you destroyed it?" Ivan Ooze asked.
"Yeah, I think I did," Rito said.
"Excellent," Jenga hissed. "What did it say?"
"Oh, I didn't memorize it, I just looked at it," Rito said.
"Finster," Jenga said, turning her gaze at the small white alien. "Can you hypnotize Rito and see if he remembers what was on that map?"
"I can certainly try," he said. "Come on Rito."
~*~
"Your people," Billy said.
"Correct. Eltare, a planet long since destroyed, is my home world. There are only two Eltarians left alive, myself and another I have not had any contact with in over ten thousand years. Actually, it is a distinct possibility that I am the last of my race," Zordon said. He paused for a moment, and then continued. "Eltarians were known for their work with Crystals, as well as Temporal Distortions. It was this knowledge that enabled me to create the time warp that extends between this dimension and my own, private pocket dimension that has kept me alive. However, the information we knew about time was meager compared to what we knew about Crystals.
"The Earth Crystals were originally intended to be the Eltare Crystals. However, four hundred thousand years ago, when your ancestors were just beginning to form a civilization, we learned that Jenga, Emperor Xett, Mistress Revolta, MasterVile, and Ivan Ooze, the five most evil beings in existence at that time, were going to launch an attack on Eltare and destroy us.
"We would have fought back, but all of the manpower in the Alliance of Eltare was already dedicated in the carving of the thirteen Crystals. We thought that if we hurried and created our Crystals, we would pull through the situation unscathed. "However, the forces of evil had no plans to launch a physical assault. Instead, they attacked us from the inside. Ninjor, Dulcea, myself, and several others you have yet to have contact with, had just developed the concept of Power Rangers a mere ten thousand years prior. That is what we originally intended the Crystals to do, sustain the Universal Morphing Grid. This is one aspect of the Crystals that survived.
"The Master Carver, Helena, had more knowledge of Crystals than any being alive, even those of the carvers of the Zeo Crystals. Jenga and Ivan Ooze summoned up a demon from the very depths of hell. It's identity was unknown. I say it is unknown not because we merely don't know, but because the demon has no true identity. It is an evil being that does not take over the victim physically, but instead turns the victim evil.
"Helena was possessed by this entity, and she became evil. After carving the thirteen Eltare Crystals, she carved thirteen Anti-Eltare Crystals. Her husband managed to expel the demon, but it was far too late. She had created the crystals that would destroy Eltare.
"Helena confided to myself and another Eltarian high warrior that she had altered the Eltare Crystals. If they should all fall in the hands of evil, all forces of good, Eltarian or otherwise, would be destroyed. Also, the Anti-Eltare Crystals were going to destroy Eltare unless quick measures were taken. The twenty-six Crystals were reconfigured to work with a planet that we all thought would never need to be protected by Rangers. That planet was Earth. The thirteen Earth Crystals were created, and I left Eltare, brought them here, had them hidden so that even I would not know their location, and became an inhabitant of Earth. The Anti-Earth Crystals were kept on Eltare.
"We thought all would be well, but Jenga was not satisfied. A full scale attack was launched on Eltare, and with the exception of one person, everyone died. Eltare, however, fought valiantly. Emperor Xett and Mistress Revolta were killed in the attack. The entire planet was obliterated, reduced to nothing but trillions and trillions and trillions of tons of debris. Jenga sifted through the rubble and found nine of the Anti-Earth Crystals. She could not find the other four.
"A few hundred years later, Queen Machina found the other four. However, rather than join forces with Jenga and destroy us all, the Machine Empire broke away from the United Alliance of Evil. This was fortunate for us, until now. The thirteen Anti-Earth Crystals have been brought together, and if they are planted in the location that the original thirteen Earth Crystals were hidden for four hundred thousand years, the Earth will be destroyed."
"Well, we don't know where the thirteenth Crystal is at," Rocky said.
"Right!" Tanya cried. "We'll be okay!"
"Yes," Zordon said, "for now. However, even twelve Anti-Crystals can start the destruction."
"We're gonna have to find these Anti-Crystals as soon as they are planted," Adam said.
"Easier said than done," Alpha said. "The Anti-Crystals cannot be picked up by our scanners. We do know the locations of the first and second Earth Crystals, so that is where the first and second Anti-Earth Crystals will be planted. However, the other ten are a mystery."
"There might be a way around not being able to track the Crystals," Billy said. "We can't track their energy signature, but we can monitor the actions of Jenga and her crew."
"Of course!" Alpha cried. "We can follow their movements, and see where they plant the Anti-Crystals!"
"We got a plan," Tommy said.
~*~
"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE ATTENTION SPAN OF A TWO YEAR OLD EARTHER!" Finster screeched.
"The politically correct term is Earthling," Rito reminded.
Finster kicked Rito in the shins and stomped away.
"What?!" Rito cried. "Aw, come on, Finster! Don't be mad at me! I'll try harder next time!"
Jenga stood on the balcony, away from the numerous conversations occurring the main palatial room. Beings who had sworn to never speak again were having jovial conversations. Queen Machina and Rita Repulsa were acting like sisters, and King Mondo, Ivan Ooze, MasterVile, and Lord Zedd joked like they were the best of friends and always had been. Klank, Orbus, and Finster were almost always together, sharing knowledge. Rito Revolto was treating Sprocket like the little brother he had never had, and now that Scorpina was married, Goldar found himself liking her more and more. Only as a friend, as he was oft quoted reminding everyone. Jenga, alone, was the exception. She had yet to bond with anyone present, but that would soon change. For the last fifteen minutes, she had been watching a large ship, shaped like a fish, cruise across the Solar System. "It's about time she's shown up," Jenga said. "I'm gonna go welcome our newest visitor," she said to anyone who cared to listen. Jenga leapt off of the balcony and floated gracefully to the lunar surface twenty-five feet below. She extended the environment bubble surrounding the palace to cover her. Not that she couldn't survive on the dead moon without warmth or air, but because she wanted to talk to her friend.
The large, green fish craft slowly landed on the moon. The fish's eye opened, and a silver ramp extended down to the surface of the moon. "Jenga!" a bright, female voice called.
"Diva Tox," Jenga said sweetly. "So glad you could join us."
"You know I'm not one to miss a good party," Diva Tox said. "How long has it been? Forty thousand years? Fifty?"
"At least," Jenga said. "How have you been?"
"Well, here in a few months, I'm going to get married," Diva Tox said.
"Let me guess. Maligore?" Jenga asked.
"You know it."
"You always did have an eye for him. I've recently gotten married."
"Really?" Diva Tox asked. "To who?"
"MasterVile," Jenga said proudly.
"Well, isn't that ironic," Diva Tox said. "How did Rita and Zedd take it?"
"Not real well, but that's their problem," Jenga said. "Let me tell you what. I am so glad you're here. I have been so lonely. MasterVile hasn't paid me a bit of attention since we got back from our honeymoon. Would you believe he, Zedd, Ivan Ooze, and King Mondo are just having a grand old time up there? Never mind that they've all spent the last fifty thousand years being sworn enemies. Men are so weird."
"Really," Diva Tox agreed. "Men. You can't live with 'em... the end."
"I see you've changed your hair color again," Jenga said.
"Hmm?" Diva Tox asked. "Oh! You mean purple." She pulled her long, slightly purplish ponytail over her right shoulder. "I haven't had green hair for at least forty millennia. But, I guess it's been that long since we've seen each other. I see you still have the blue streaks."
"Of course," Jenga said, "but mine is natural."
"Are you implying mine isn't?" Diva Tox asked good-naturedly.
"No, I'm just saying I don't need magic to make my hair have blue streaks in it," Jenga said with a smile. "Oh, and by the way, tell Elgare, Rygog, and your other goons they can come out. I DON'T BITE!" Jenga shouted so they could hear her. "I just ate," she whispered to Diva Tox.
"You heard her boys!" Diva Tox called. The two friends then walked away from the craft.
~*~
"Aye-yi-yi!" Alpha cried. "The space pirate!"
"According to this," Billy said, reading the information from the monitor set into the console, "the Alliance of Evil ranked her fourth. Let's see, it's Jenga, MasterVile, Lord Zedd, and then Diva Tox."
"What happened to the Machine Empire?" Adam asked.
"After Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd destroyed them, they were bumped to the back of the list," Zordon said. "Rest assured, though, that they will be moving back up."
"This is interesting," Billy said. "Rita is two hundred and third, Goldar is one thousand and twelve, Finster is fifteen hundred three, Scorpina is two thousand twelve, Baboo and Squatt are five thousand six and five thousand seven. Does the Alliance of Good have a rating system like this?"
"Yes they do," Zordon said.
"Who's number one?" Aisha asked.
"The number one and two spots are currently unknown, for one member of the Alliance has not been heard of in over six thousand years," Zordon said. "If this person is alive, I am number two. If not, I am number one."
"Wow," Rocky said. "That's really cool. What's Dulcea and Ninjor?"
"Ninjor is third, or second, and Dulcea is fifth, or fourth," Zordon said. "The Alliance of Evil has absolutely no knowledge of the missing person. It is not known if she is dead or alive." The Rangers were silent in respect.
~*~
"They didn't have a whole lot of choice," Jenga whispered. "Well, while Rygog and Elgare are getting settled, why don't I fill you in on the whole situation? In a while, we're going to plant the Anti-Earth Crystals, and watch the destruction begin."
~*~
Kimberly gave up on gymnastics. She couldn't concentrate, and Skull's stares were starting to make her self-conscious. She and Tommy hadn't even spoken yet. She realized it was all her fault. Not only had she dumped him for someone else, the person she had dumped him for ended up dumping her. She was completely single again. Kimberly didn't necessarily want Tommy as a boyfriend, again. Besides, he was dating Kat. But she did want him as a friend, again. "Don't think it's gonna happen though," she muttered. She sat down on the padded mat and propped her head up on her elbows. _I sure screwed things up,_ she thought to herself.
"You okay, Kim?" Skull asked. He sat down beside her on the mat.
"Yeah, I guess," she said, forcing a smile. "I just feel kind of bummed."
"About what?" Skull asked. "You and Tommy?"
"How'd you know? Kimberly asked.
"You have this look that says either you feel like you've hurt someone's feelings, or you just saw your puppy get run over," he said. Kimberly smiled. "I really hurt him, didn't I?" she asked.
"He moped for days," Skull said. "Then, he finally got over you, and a few months ago, he and Kat got together. So he's okay now."
"But I'm not," Kimberly said. "I have to talk to him. Do you think I should talk to him?"
"Will it make you feel better?" Skull asked.
"There's only one way to find out," she said. "Thanks Skull."
"No prob," Skull said softly. He watched as Kimberly walked over to Tommy and Jason, said something to them, and then she and Tommy left the Juice Bar.
~*~
"Kim," he replied.
"I don't know what to say," Kimberly said. "I really don't. I am so sorry. I met Josh, we dated for a while, and then a friend of mine, Renee, caught him sleeping with her roommate. I had never realized how sheltered Angel Grove has made me. Stuff like that doesn't happen in Angel Grove. I could handle being cheated on, I could handle being dumped, it was his excuse that tore my heart in half."
"What was his excuse?" Tommy asked softly.
In an over-dramatic chauvinistic pig voice, Kimberly grunted, "How can you expect me to date you when you won't even put out? We've been datin' two whole months and I ain't got any action from you. I'm a man and I have manly urges." She shook her head, reliving the angering memory. "I have never been so hurt and mad at the same time. I kind of went ballistic on him, and Renee told me that her roommate said I broke his nose." Kimberly smiled in spite of herself. "I was hurt that Josh had done that to me, but I was even more mad at myself. I dumped a great guy for that waste of flesh."
Tommy looked at his feet, unsure what to say or do. "Kim," he stammered. "I..."
"I'm not finished," Kimberly said. "I know you're dating Kat now, and I'm really happy for the both of you. You both really deserve each other. I'm not trying to win you back, I'm not trying to make excuses for my dumping you, I'm just saying I'm very sorry, and I'd like to be friends again."
"I never stopped being your friend," Tommy said sincerely.
Kimberly bit the insides of her cheeks to keep from crying and gave her friend a big hug.
~*~
"What?" Rito asked.
Jenga growled deep in her throat and brought her attention back to the Anti-Earth Crystals. "Anyway, the time has arrived to plant the first twelve crystals. Goldar," Jenga said. She picked up a small smoky cube. "This one goes to Ireland. And don't worry about the exact placement. I'll teleport you there, and Finster and I have created a circle of energy to lie where the original crystal was at."
"Yes, Jenga," Goldar growled.
"Rita, this crystal goes to Mammoth Cave." She handed Rita a large crystal, nearly the size of a bowling ball.
"Give me the heavy one," Rita griped.
"Zedd, this crystal goes to New Guinae. King Mondo, take this one to the Great Coral Reef."
"I'm a machine, Jenga," King Mondo said. "And salt water is especially corrosive."
"Fine," she said. "Scorpina, take it instead. Mondo, you can take the fifth Crystal to a small cave in northern China."
"That's better," King Mondo said. "Thank you."
"Queen Machina, numero seis is to be planted in a small cave hidden deep in the Andes."
"Numero seis?" Rito asked.
"Number six in Spanish you dolt," Jenga snapped. "Ivan, take this one to a trench in the center of the Pacific. Klank and Orbus, this crystal is to be placed in Germany. Elgare, number nine is to go to Kenya. Rygog, number ten belongs in Switzerland. Diva, eleven in Alaska, and MasterVile, twelve in, well, how about that, also in the Mammoth Cave. But, before any of you go, we have to preoccupy the Rangers."
"How so?" Lord Zedd asked.
"Finster has recreated three of his finest monsters. Eye Guy, King Sphinx, and Scarlet Sentinel," Jenga said. "As soon as the attack is underway, then you can plant the crystals. We certainly don't want those Rangers interfering with our plans."
"Three of our finest?!" Rita laughed. "HAHAHAH!"
"But can't they just come along behind us and pick up the Anti-Earth Crystals?" Ivan Ooze asked.
"Nope," Jenga said. "As soon as they are planted and activated, they cannot be moved by anyone. Even us."
"Cool," Scorpina said.
"Very cool," Jenga agreed. "Finster, do your stuff."
~*~
~*~
"Jenga has unleashed three old monsters on Angel Grove," Zordon explained. "Behold the Viewing Screen."
"Talk about recycling," Kimberly said.
"These guys are old," Zack said. "But, we've beat them before."
"The time has come to reveal the secrets of your new NinjaZords," Zordon said. "They can combine to make one, very powerful NinjaMegaZord, or three separate MegaZords. NinjaMegaZord I is piloted by the Blue and Pink Rangers. NinjaMegaZord II is controlled by the Red, Black, and White Rangers. NinjaMegaZord III is created from the Zords of the Green and Yellow Rangers.
"Billy, Kimberly, Katherine, and Rocky, you must go fight Eye Guy.
"Jason, Tommy, Zack, Bulk, and Aisha, you shall go after King Sphinx.
"And Trini, Tanya, Adam, and Skull. You will protect the city from Scarlet Sentinel. Let the Power protect you."
"IT'S MORPHIN TIME!" all thirteen Rangers shouted at once.
"GREEN DRAGON - RABBIT!"
"WHITE TIGER - BEAR!"
"MASTODON - GIRAFFE!"
"PTERODACTYL - CRANE!"
"TRICERATOPS - WOLF!"
"SABER-TOOTH TIGER - DOVE!"
"TYRANNOSAURUS - COUGAR!"
"ZEO RANGER I, PINK - BUTTERFLY!"
"ZEO RANGER II, YELLOW - GAZELLE!"
"ZEO RANGER III, BLUE - APE!"
"ZEO RANGER IV, GREEN - FROG!"
"ZEO RANGER V, RED - FALCON!"
"GOLD RANGER POWER - LION!"
With an overwhelmingly loud crackle of electricity, the thirteen Rangers teleported out of the Power Chamber. "Aye-yi-yi!" Alpha cried. "Thirteen Power Rangers."
~*~
"We have to be really careful," Kimberly said. "No matter where we're at, he can see us."
"You guys've beat this thing before," Rocky said. "What's his weakness?"
"His main eye," Billy said.
Eye Guy suddenly turned around so that his main eye was facing the four Rangers crouched down behind the hill. "He's seen us!" Kat cried.
"ATTACK!" Kimberly cried. With a resounding hi-yaah, the four Rangers leapt into battle.
~*~
Aisha was next in line. She high kicked him in the chin with her left foot, promptly kicked him again with her right, and flipped away backwards. Zack ran at Aisha. She dropped down into a crouched position. He stepped onto her shoulders and launched himself over King Sphinx. He landed on the ground behind the blue and gold beast, leapt straight up into the air, and side kicked it in the back. King Sphinx was forced forward and tripped over Aisha.
Jason ran up to the monster, grabbed it by the shoulders, and high-kicked it to Bulk. "He's all yours!" Jason shouted.
Bulk cartwheeled backwards as King Sphinx was forced before him. The Gold Ranger planted his left leg firmly on the ground, and brought his right leg up and around, kicking King Sphinx in the head. Bulk flipped away before King Sphinx could retaliate.
"You've made five very fatal mistakes," King Sphinx growled as two powerful wings unfolded from his back.
~*~
"That's part of her attack," Trini said.
The four Rangers stared down at the blue and maroon monster. She gleamed in the midday sun, and carried herself with dignity. "It looks like a tube of lipstick," Tanya observed.
"It is," Trini said. "If it starts singing, get out of the way."
"What?" Adam asked.
"When it sings, energy notes burst out of her mouth. If they hit you, you're out," Trini explained.
"Say we rush her?" Skull asked.
"Good deal," Trini said. "Her weak point is her legs."
"CHARGE!" Adam shouted.
The four Rangers jumped over the hill and darted down at the Scarlet Sentinel. The beast gasped and jumped away from the Rangers. "La-la-la-la-la-la-LAAAAA!" Scarlet Sentinel screeched. A stream of silver and golden musical notes burst from her mouth. Tanya and Skull dove out of the way as the notes hurtled at them.
"This is like something in a video game," Skull said. Trini flipped over to Scarlet Sentinel and side-kicked her in the chest. Before Scarlet could react, Trini dropped down to the ground and swept her left leg beneath the monster. With a melodious shriek, Scarlet Sentinel hit the ground, giving Trini time to roll away.
"Ki-yaah!" Adam cried, leaping into the air. He landed on top of Scarlet Sentinel just as she climbed to her feet. Adam grabbed ahold of her shoulders and pulled her to the ground with him. Skull cartwheeled over to Scarlet Sentinel and kicked her off of Adam. "Thanks man," Adam said as Skull helped him to his feet.
"Not a problem," Skull said.
Tanya ran up to the monster, pushed off with her left leg, and high kicked Scarlet Sentinel in the chest. Tanya landed on both feet as Scarlet Sentinel stumbled backwards. The lipstick monster tried desperately to regain her composure and sang, "Prepare to diiiiie!"
~*~
"POWER LANCE!" Billy shouted. Kimberly flipped out of the way as Billy ran past her. The Power Lance was held out before him like a ram. Just as the Lance was about to pierce the main eye, Eye Guy grabbed the Lance and flipped Billy over his head. "WHOA!" Billy cried. He let go of the Lance in mid-air and landed, several feet away, in a painful pile.
"Billy!" Kimberly cried. She immediately ran to help her fallen comrade.
Rocky brought his hands up to his visor and shouted, "ZEO III ARM BLADES!" Two, blue triangular weapons appeared in his possession. He rushed at Eye Guy. Flipping into the air, he slashed at Eye Guy as he passed over the monster. Screaming in pain, Eye Guy tried to hit Rocky, but Rocky was much too fast for him.
"ZEO I POWER SHIELD!" Katherine shouted. Her visor began to shine with a pink light. Instantly, the pink circle of light from her visor extended into her right hand and materialized into the Pink Power Shield. "You're goin' down, Eye Guy!" Katherine taunted. She jumped into the air, holding the Pink Power Shield over her head. The Zeo Power overtook her body, and her body became parallel with the ground, seemingly defying gravity. She immediately began to turn, over and over, and flew, straight as an arrow, at Eye Guy. She struck him in his center eye with her Pink Power Shield. Kat's body melted into a streak of pink light, and she teleported over to Billy, Rocky, and Kimberly.
"NO!" Eye Guy screamed, both of his hands coming up to protect his center eye.
"You got his main eye!" Rocky cried.
"I got his main eye-lid," Kat corrected.
"More than I did," Billy said slowly, groggy from being slammed into the ground.
"Can you hit his main eye with an arrow, Kim?" Rocky asked.
"One way to find out," Kimberly said, raising the Power Bow up before her.
~*~
"I'll do my best," he said. Sabba left her grip and tried to fly at King Sphinx. However, the wind was pushing against him so hard, he didn't move.
"Let me try!" Bulk cried. "GOLDEN POWER STAFF!" From his crouched position against the wind, he pointed the Power Staff at King Sphinx. The emblem at the staff's end opened up, and numerous golden balls of fire shot out. They moved through the wind with the greatest of ease and struck King Sphinx at numerous points on his body. He stopped flapping his wings and hit the ground, giving Bulk and Aisha time to roll out of the way.
"ZEO V POWER SWORD!" Tommy cried.
"POWER SWORD!" Jason shouted. The two red Rangers rushed at King Sphinx with their Swords out before them. King Sphinx pulled a sword out of the air and blocked both of their blows. King Sphinx kicked Tommy and slashed at Jason with his sword. Jason screamed in pain and jumped out of the way. Seconds after the attack, his armor blocked the pain, allowing him to regain his composure.
"POWER AXE!" Zack shouted. He rushed King Sphinx. He put all of his weight behind the axe and chopped at King Sphinx. With an angry bellow, King Sphinx punched Zack, sending him rolling.
"HEY!" Aisha shouted. "YOU MESS WITH HIM, YOU MESS WITH ME! SABBA!" She ran at King Sphinx, enraged. She slashed at his face and kicked him squarely in the stomach.
"Dang, girl!" Zack said.
"Let's take this guy out!" Jason shouted.
Tommy, Jason, Bulk, Zack, and Aisha ran at King Sphinx from all sides, surrounding him. They brought their weapons down for what they thought would be the combined fatal blow, when King Sphinx suddenly extended his wings and flew straight up into the air. "Man!" Tommy shouted. "We should have had him!"
~*~
"ZEO IV POWER HATCHETS!" Adam shouted. He ran up to Tanya, jumped up to her shoulders, and launched himself over Scarlet Sentinel. As he passed over her, he brought his Power Hatchets down at her head, sending showers of sparks from each wound.
"EEEEEYAAAAAAAA!" Scarlet Sentinel sang. She ran at Tanya, grabbed the Yellow Ranger, and threw her over her head. Tanya screamed as she flew over the monster and at her friends. She slammed into Skull, Trini, and Adam, knocking them to the ground.
~*~
~*~
"We're gonna have to go for the MegaZord," Rocky said.
"Let's do it," Billy said.
"NINJA CRANEZORD!"
"NINJA WOLFZORD!"
"NINJA APEZORD!"
"NINJA BUTTERFLYZORD!"
~*~
"Right!" Tommy cried.
"NINJA COUGARZORD!"
"NINJA GIRAFFEZORD!"
"NINJA BEARZORD!"
"NINJA FALCONZORD!"
"NINJA LIONZORD!"
~*~
"Right," Skull muttered, dazed at the creature's sudden, tremendous height. "NINJA DOVEZORD!"
"NINJA RABBITZORD!"
"NINJA GAZELLEZORD!"
"NINJA FROGZORD!"
~*~
~*~
~*~
"Can four Zords make a MegaZord?" Katherine asked.
"We're about to find out," Billy said.
Suddenly, the four Zords doubled in size. "Wow!" Kimberly cried. "Was that supposed to happen?"
The ApeZord split in half, producing the lower torso and legs. The Wolf twisted and contorted itself, creating the MegaZord's upperbody. CraneZord split vertically down the center. Each half created an arm. Katherine's butterfly folded into itself and formed a shiny, pink and silver head which clamped onto the MegaZord's shoulders. The four Rangers slid into the MegaZord's Main Cockpit. Kimberly and Billy sat at the top level, and Rocky and Kat on the bottom. "Let's rock Eye Guy's world!" Rocky shouted.
"Right!" the others agreed.
~*~
"POWER UP!" the five Rangers shouted.
~*~
~*~
"There is nothing we can do until the Rangers return," Zordon said. He shook his head sadly.
~*~
"We have to take him out now!" Billy shouted. "Another hit like that and some of our systems will start going off-line!"
MegaZord turned around and slashed at Eye Guy again. Eye Guy's body began to explode. "We got it!" Rocky shouted.
"No we didn't," Kimberly said.
When the smoke cleared, only the center eye remained, floating above the ground. MegaZord jumped forward and stabbed through the eye before it could retaliate. It exploded in one final fireball.
"All right!" the four Rangers shouted, sharing their customary high fives.
~*~
"We go airborne," Tommy said, typing in the needed numeric code to activate Flight Mode. NinjaMegaZord II lifted off of the ground and darted after King Sphinx.
~*~
"En garde!" Skull shouted as the monster and MegaZord began to duel.
~*~
~*~
"I'm starting to get dizzy," Aisha said as they circled the moon once more.
"Doesn't this thing have any lasers or missiles?" Bulk asked. "We'll never get close enough to use our Sword."
"Activating thrusters," Jason said. The MegaZord began to move closer to King Sphinx.
~*~
"Making himself dizzy is all I can see of it," Jenga complained. She watched as the blue and gold streak passed over the palace once more, followed close behind by a red, black, and white streak.
"It's making the whole moon shake," Finster complained as he turned and went back to his lab.
King Sphinx continued to circle the moon. "Hell fire," Jenga griped. She shot a burst of blue light at King Sphinx as he passed over. In a huge explosion, she destroyed the beast. "Idiot," she muttered in disgust.
~*~
"What happened to it?" Tommy asked.
"Scans indicate the fatal blast came from the moon," Bulk said.
"Guess they were aiming for us," Jason said. "Let's get outta here."
"Right," Aisha said, turning around to head for home.
~*~
"NINJA MEGAZORD!" the four Rangers shouted. The green and yellow Zord stepped before the monster and slashed down through her body. A dazed look came over her face and she collapsed to the ground before exploding.
~*~
"I destroyed the idiot myself," Jenga said. "Just kept flying around the moon over and over and over again. Got sick of it, blasted him out of the sky." She turned to look at Rito. "Let that be a lesson to you."
As soon as the others were back, Jenga pulled the Thirteenth Anti-Earth Crystal out of a small pocket dimension she had created. "Prepare for the Earth's demise," she said. She let go of the Anti-Crystal, and it remained where it was, floating in the air. She then produced her own scepter. Rita, Zedd, MasterVile, and Mondo followed suit, while Ivan Ooze and Diva Tox merely pointed their right hand at the crystal. "Let's do it," she said. Seven beams of light, red from Zedd, yellow from Rita, Blue from herself, white from MasterVile, purple from Ooze, green from Mondo, and black from Diva Tox, hit the Anti-Crystal. It began to glow with an evil light.
"Excellent," King Mondo growled.
"Hey! You guys!" Prince Sprocket shouted. "Look!" He pointed his small, stubby arm at the Earth. They all watched in delight as the numerous white clouds began to turn a dingy gray.
~*~
"Too late for what?" Bulk asked.
"The first twelve Anti-Earth Crystals have been planted and activated," Zordon said.
Suddenly, a bright red light flooded through the Power Chamber and a previously unused alarm sounded.
Chapter Fifteen: Elements
"What's going to happen, Zordon?" Tanya asked fearfully.
"The Anti-Earth Crystals will turn the Earth against itself," Zordon explained. "The worst disturbances will probably begin here in California."
"Why?" Trini asked.
"It's the Earth Crystals," Alpha explained. "The Anti-Earth Crystals were designed to destroy the planet, and as such, will attempt to destroy the Crystals that protect it."
"And the Crystals are here," Billy finished.
"We have to do something," Skull said.
"We can warn people," Tommy said. "Encourage people to get in their basements, something. Anything."
"That is an excellent suggestion," Zordon said. "Katherine, Tanya, Rocky, Adam, Tommy, and Bulk. You must morph and go warn various television studios. If you go and extend the warning in person, it will carry more weight than if I were to warn them through our radio systems. The rest of you should go help in Angel Grove as much as you can."
"Let's go guys," Jason said. Seven streams of light, green, red, blue, yellow, pink, black, and white floated out of the Power Chamber.
"IT'S MORPHIN TIME!" Tommy shouted.
"ZEO RANGER I, PINK - BUTTERFLY!"
"ZEO RANGER II, YELLOW - GAZELLE!"
"ZEO RANGER III, BLUE - APE!"
"ZEO RANGER IV, GREEN - FROG!"
"ZEO RANGER V, RED - FALCON!"
"GOLD RANGER POWER - LION!"
The six Rangers teleported to Alpha's coordinates. "Aye-yi-yi, Zordon," Alpha said. "What should I do?"
"Prepare the living quarters for the Rangers," Zordon said solemnly.
~*~
"I'll go to Angel Grove Hospital," Zack said.
"I'll go with you," Trini offered. The two teens took off running.
"The wind is really starting to pick up," Aisha observed. The sky was sickeningly gray, and heavy, ominous thunderclouds sat just above the city. "We have to hurry."
"Skull, there are some nursing homes near here," Jason said. "Let's go warn them."
"Right," he agreed.
"I'll go see if I can help at the high school," Aisha said.
"We'll meet up with you later," Kimberly said. She and Billy promptly took off for Ernie's.
~*~
"I prefer Mustard myself," Squatt remarked ignorantly.
"Her name was not Mustard," Scorpina said. "It could have been Thousand Island."
"I prefer ketchup," Baboo added.
"Hey honey!" Scorpina shouted. "Ivan! What was that chick's name?!"
"What chick?" Jenga asked.
"That chick he stole the maps from," Scorpina said frustratedly. "I've decided it was either Mayonnaise or Thousand Island."
Jenga shook her head and walked away. "Ooze," Jenga said as she walked past the purple demon. "Your wife needs you."
~*~
"What?" he asked, still wiping the counter down. "There's a major storm headed this way," Billy said. "They expect it to level everything in Angel Grove."
"They who?" Ernie asked. "They haven't said anything about it on the news."
"The Power Rangers, that's who," Kimberly said. "And they haven't aired it yet because the Power Rangers haven't got to the TV studios yet."
Ernie's face suddenly went pale. "You got it," he said. "Hey! Everybody! We have to go in the basement! Come on!"
"What do we do Billy?" Kimberly asked. "Where do we go?"
"I don't know," he said. "I guess go warn people in the streets."
Ernie ran back up to the bar. "You guys," Ernie said, "be careful." He smiled a knowing smile and followed the crowd of teens to the basement.
"You don't think?" Kimberly asked. "Could he... know?"
"We'll worry about it later," Billy said. "Come on."
They had just reached the doors when a torrent of rain began to pummel the parking lot. "Should we morph?" Kimberly asked.
"It might cause undue panic," Billy said.
"Right now, I don't think there is such a thing as undue panic," Kimberly said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said. "IT'S MORPHIN TIME!"
"PTERODACTYL - CRANE!"
"TRICERATOPS - WOLF!"
In a flash of pink and blue light, their Ranger armor molded itself around the body of the two teens, increasing their muscularity, reflexes, strength, and fighting ability. "Let's go," Kimberly said. They ran out into the rapidly increasing storm.
"The wind's really picking up!" Billy shouted. "Billy! Look!" Kimberly screamed, pointing to the left. They both watched in terrified awe as a heavy, black funnel cloud lowered itself to the Earth.
~*~
"This is national television," the man said angrily. "We can't go airing problems you should be taking care of."
Bulk kept the anger he felting growing toward this man in check. _Do people really treat the Power Rangers like this?_ Bulk asked himself. The Gold Ranger, suddenly enraged, grabbed the man by the collar and shoved him against the wall. "You listen to me and you listen to me good," Bulk growled. "My friends have put their lives on the line every day for the last two and a half years for people like you, and you don't even appreciate their efforts. If you don't air the warning now, I will do something that we will both regret."
"Yes sir," the man breathed, pale-faced.
"Thank you," Bulk said. "Do it now."
~*~
The White Ranger hurried into the main office, startling the secretary. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"Yes," Aisha said. "A major storm is about to hit Angel Grove. You need to warn the students." Suddenly, the entire building began to shake. "Or an earthquake," Aisha added.
~*~
Rita nodded in agreement. What had just a few minutes before been a beautiful blue and white planet was now a gray glob of destruction.
"Fires, earthquakes, volcanoes erupting, tornadoes, hurricanes, and general chaos," Jenga said as she walked up beside the two women. "Ooooh. Makes me all tingly." Two twin beams of sapphire blue light shone from her eyes. Immediately, the smile left her face.
"What is it?" Rita asked.
"Those Rangers," Jenga said. "They're trying to warn people."
"So what good can they do?" Queen Machina asked. "They're fighting a losing battle."
"That's not the point," Jenga said. "Mondo. Ooze. Diva. Zedd and Rita. Front and center!" The five beings met up in the center of the palatial room.
"What is it, Mom?" Lord Zedd asked.
"We need to send some distractions for our little friends," Jenga said. "Specifically Billy and Kimberly."
"Why those two?" King Mondo asked.
"Because they seem to be the unofficial leaders," Jenga said. "Tommy might be the leader in position, but the blue and pink Rangers are the ones everybody looks up to. King Mondo, prepare some cogs. Diva Tox, get some of your best Pirahnatrons. Lord Zedd, some Tengas and Z Putties. Rita, get some of your Putties from the past in here. Ooze, make us some Ooze Men, and I'll throw in some of my best Wulf Warriors," Jenga explained.
"This should be an interesting fight," King Mondo said.
"Rito, Goldar, Scorpina," Jenga said, "if you desire, you may lead this battalion."
"Would be our honor," Scorpina answered for the three of them.
~*~
Just as suddenly as it came, the rain stopped. The lightning remained, but the torrential downpour ceased. "Destroy - the - Power Rangers," a robotic voice said. Billy and Kimberly turned around to see a bizarre army marching toward them. Cogs on the front line, Wulf Warriors behind, Ooze Men and Tengas one row behind them, and Putties and Pirahnatrons taking up the rear. "This day just keeps going from bad to worse," Kimberly said.
"This is Billy. Kimberly and I need help. We've got an entire army about to attack on the north side of Angel Grove," he said into his wrist. Suddenly, Goldar, Rito, and Scorpina materialized before the army. "Can anybody hear us?" Billy asked frantically. "Hello?!"
"It's not working!" Kimberly cried. "Zordon! Alpha!"
"Looks like we're on our own," Billy said.
"Well, if anybody can do it," Kimberly began.
"We can," Billy finished.
~*~
"You know, this isn't really how I intended for this to occur," Katherine said.
"You'll do fine," the lady said.
"Okay, miss," she said. "You're on in five. Four. Three...."
The Pink Zeo Ranger looked into the camera, took a deep breath, and began her spontaneous warning.
~*~
"Calm yourself, Alpha Five," Zordon said. "We are doing all that we can do. Check the temperature of the Earth below Angel Grove."
"Right Zordon," Alpha said, hustling over to a nearby console. The scan took only a few moments. "Aye-yi-yi! Temperature has already risen forty-seven point three degrees! Molten rock is being forced up to the surface! We're doomed!"
"Is the molten rock coming up from beneath the Power Chamber's Mountain?" Zordon asked, his voice very calm.
"No, Zordon," Alpha said. "Fortunately, the spell you cast ten thousand years ago is still holding. This mountain is rock solid. However, the Zord Holding Bay could be in danger! The lava can't push up beneath it, but lava can pour down into it."
"Hopefully, any lava that does make its way to the surface will not flow out here to the Power Chamber or Zord Holding Bay."
"I certainly hope so," Alpha said woefully.
~*~
He and Trini stood at the mouth of the Hospital Parking Lot. They were both soaked to the skin, but that really didn't seem to matter at the moment. The two teens just stared at the smoking pile of rubble that had once been Angel Grove Memorial. "Those poor people," Trini muttered in a very small voice. She fought back the tears that tried to break free. Suddenly, a terrible crack of thunder deafened them both. A multi-forked lightning bolt struck the rubble. Trini dropped to her knees with both hands over her ears. A raging inferno sprang to life almost immediately.
"There's probably severed gas mains around here," Zack said.
"Let's get out of here," Trini said, jumping to her feet. A giant red fireball exploded behind them.
"MASTODON - GIRAFFE!" Zack bellowed at the same moment Trini cried, "SABER-TOOTH TIGER - DOVE!" They were in their armor just a split second before the fireball consumed their bodies.
~*~
~*~
"Jason," Skull said. "We're too late. Now pull yourself together and maybe we can help somebody else." Skull spoke with a tone of voice he never would have dreamed he would use on anyone, certainly not Jason who outweighed him by a good eighty pounds.
"You're right," Jason breathed. He wiped his forearm across his mouth and stood up. "You're right. Sorry for losin' it."
"It's okay," Skull muttered. "There's no use following the tornado's path. I doubt we'll find any signs of life that way."
"You're right," Jason said yet again. "We'll head the other way." He turned around just in time to see the well-defined boundary of rain. The rain seemed to form a solid wall, and it was slowly creeping it's way into Angel Grove. "Hurricane," he whispered.
~*~
"POWER LANCE!" he shouted. He held the Lance in both hands before him and ran into the army of warriors.
Kimberly ran to Scorpina. "I thought you were gone," Kimberly said, throwing a punch at Scorpina's face.
"I'm back and stronger than before," Scorpina quipped, catching Kimberly's fist in her own. She pushed Kimberly to her knees by her fist.
"So am I," Kimberly growled. She yanked her hand back, swept her right leg beneath Scorpina and brought her crashing to the ground.
Billy reached the middle of the group and stopped. He began to spin his Lance all around him, producing sparks from the Cogs, ooze droplets from the Ooze Men, and screams from the Tengas.
~*~
"Jenga," Archerina said. "I request permission to go to Earth and help fight."
"Certainly," Jenga said. Archerina nodded, melted into a pink ball of light, and darted to Earth.
~*~
"I've been better," Trini said, "but yeah. I'm okay. Where do we go now? What do we do, Zack?"
"I don't know," he stammered. The ground began to crack beneath their feet.
"What now?" Trini cried. The two Rangers jumped out of the way as the pavement began to disintegrate. Suddenly, red lava began to spew out of the numerous spiderweb cracks. Before Trini and Zack could even comprehend the volcano that was forming beneath Angel Grove, the hurricane was upon them.
~*~
Billy rolled out of the way as Rito's Sword landed where the Blue Ranger had been a split second before. "Real man don't attack when the other guy's back is turned," Billy snapped, bringing the blunt side of his Lance down across Rito's chest. Suddenly, blue and white sparks filled the air. Billy screamed and fell to the side.
"How about Golden Monkeys?" Goldar asked. Billy rolled away, angry at himself for getting sandwiched between the two henchmen. When it came to intelligence, both were lacking, but they were excellent warriors who weren't afraid to play dirty.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Kimberly shouted. She fired an arrow at Goldar. The arrow just bounced off of his armor.
"You give pink archists a bad name," a female voice said behind her.
Who are you?" Kimberly asked, backing away from the pink robot.
"Archerina," the robot said. "Daughter-in-law of the Throne." Without another word, she smashed her own bow into Kimberly's body, knocking the Pink Ranger down with a grunt.
~*~
~*~
Skull nodded in agreement. He pulled his right hand closer to his face. Concentrating, he twisted his right hand and simultaneously summoned his Power Morpher from the small pocket dimension Zordon and Alpha had written into his own, personal energy signature. Normally, the procedure was activated by 'It's Morphin Time,' but he wasn't really in the best position to go through the long morphing process. "GREEN DRAGON - RABBIT!" Skull screamed.
"TYRANNOSAURUS - COUGAR!"
Skull let go of the lamppole and found that the wind scarcely had an effect on him at all. "Zordon," Jason said into his wrist. "Alpha. Jason to Power Chamber. Jason to Power Chamber."
"Why isn't it working?" Skull asked.
"I don't know," Jason said. "Hold on. I'm going to try to teleport." He put his hands on his Morpher Buckle and squeezed the sides, signaling a teleport. However, nothing happened. _Lord help us all,_ Jason thought to himself.
~*~
"I'd rather die than give you the pleasure," Kimberly said. She looked up at Archerina through the black visor on her helmet. From her perspective, it didn't even seem as though she were wearing a helmet. She had her normal field of vision, not impended in the least by the pitch black visor or the pink pterodactyl beak which stuck down through the middle. It was for this reason that it didn't seem her helmet provided any protection. Of course, few monsters actually targeted their heads. Archerina, though, seemed to be intent on inflicting as much painful damage as possible. The pink tip of her Sword was right before her eyes. Suddenly, a single drop of water appeared on her visor. "Huh?" Kimberly asked. Immediately, the gargantuan hurricane was upon the battle field.
"Water?" Archerina panicked. "WATER! NO!" She immediately streaked away in pink light.
Kimberly breathed a sigh of relief and got to her feet. The cogs immediately began to break down, reducing the army by one fifth.
~*~
~*~
~*~
~*~
"I know," Zack said. The two Rangers stopped and attempted to teleport.
"Wha?" Trini asked. She attempted to teleport again.
"Man, now the Power Chamber," Zack said. "This day just keeps going from bad to worse!"
~*~
"You're right," he said. They started to run, when the ground began to rumble beneath them.
"Earthquakes and hurricanes?" Kimberly asked sarcastically. Suddenly, she realized that it was no Earthquake. A large section of the street fell straight down. Billy flipped away from the trouble, but Kimberly was too late. The Ooze Men, Putties, Tengas, Pirahnatrons, and Wulf Warriors hit a seething river of lava hundreds of feet below the street. Part of the street fell with them, while another part got wedged against some various pipes. It did not fall completely, but it was slanted nearly sixty degrees. Screaming, Kimberly slid down this slanted section of broken asphalt. At the last second, she grabbed a water pipe. The chunk of asphalt finally broke free, plunging into the lava stream far below. "BILLY!" Kimberly screamed. The pipe began to bend, lowering her inch by inch to her doom.
"Hold on Kimberly!" he cried. However, he had no idea how to save his comrade. She couldn't teleport, and in a matter of seconds, she would fall into the lava far below. She could certainly survive the fall in her armor. She could even survive the scorching river of fire. However, it was moving fast, and he had no idea where it would carry her.
~*~
~*~
"I'm hurrying!" Billy called down to her in an equally frantic voice. He glanced all about him, looking for anything he could use to help Kimberly. He saw a fallen power line and got an idea. Billy pulled his Power Blaster from it's holster and fired at the thick wire. The blue laser sliced clean through it. He promptly shot the wire again at a distance about fifty feet from the first nick. "I've got an idea!" he shouted down to Kimberly. "Just hold on!"
"This pipe isn't going to hold much longer!" she cried.
Billy ran up to her and, holding tight to one end, tossed the power line down to Kimberly. As soon as it swung past her, she latched hold of the wire and held on for dear life. In just a few moments, he had her pulled to safety. She hugged Billy tightly, not wanting to let go. Despite the hurricane raging around them, he just held her in return.
~*~
"That's what all of Angel Grove is like," Skull answered. "Nursing homes, suburbs. Business district."
"It's all leveled," Jason said. "And if that weren't bad enough, teleportation and communications are offline."
"Let's find the others," Aisha said. "Maybe Billy know some way to get back to the Power Chamber."
"Sounds like a good idea," Jason agreed.
~*~
"The Power Chamber might be gone," Billy said. "We have no way of knowing."
"How will we get back?" Zack asked.
"We can try calling on a Zord," Billy said. "I recommend a flying Zord. At least that way we can travel out to the Power Chamber."
"HEY!" a strong voice shouted. "You guys!"
"It's Jason," Zack said. "With Aisha and Skull." The seven Rangers joined up a few seconds later. Billy quickly explained his plan for getting back to the Power Chamber. "Red Dragon would probably be the best Zord," Zack said. "Yeah, and it will have room for the rest of us," Billy said. "Do it Jase."
"Right," he said. "RED DRAGON THUNDERZORD! POWER UP!"
~*~
~*~
"Will that work?" Zack asked. "With the teleportation system off-line?"
"It should," Billy said. "Line-of-sight is activated by the Zords, not from the normal teleport unit in the Power Chamber."
"We're about to see if you're right," Jason said. The seven Rangers jumped into the air and teleported into the Zord.
~*~
Billy replied by glowing blue. His body collapsed into a thin line of light, and he shot straight down and out of the Zord. The other five followed suit. Jason took off his helmet immediately. "You guys, we're in real trouble," he said. "There is a lava flow headed straight for the Power Chamber."
"Isn't the Power Chamber protected?" Zack asked. "Something about a spell Zordon cast millennia ago before he was trapped in that tube."
"Yeah, but the Holding Bay isn't," Billy said. "It was built after Zordon was locked away, so he couldn't put a spell on it. But, the hurricane, all that rain, it should solidify the flow before it gets here."
"It's moving too fast," Jason said. "The rain isn't having any effect on it at all."
"Billy, how do we get out of here?" Skull asked.
"Follow me," Billy said. The seven teens ran down a long, winding corridor until they finally reached a nearly vertical stairwell. "Be careful on these stairs."
"I think ladder would be a better term," Zack said as he stepped down onto the narrow, metal steps right behind Billy.
"How far down do these steps go?" Kimberly asked from somewhere above him.
"Only a quarter of a mile," Billy said.
"That's not too bad," Aisha commented.
"Then, we travel straight ahead for about two hundred yards and climb down a ladder that takes us the other quarter mile to the Power Chamber," he finished.
"Man," Skull said, "I don't like this job anymore."
_Neither do I,_ Jason thought to himself.
~*~
"Nope," Billy said. "The next room is the Power Chamber." He stepped in front of the silver metal doors which promptly slid open after recognizing his genetic code.
"Thank God," Skull said.
"Rangers!" Alpha cried. "I am so glad you are safe!"
"Why is the teleportation unit off-line?" Billy asked, setting his helmet on a computer console. He immediately began to search for the problem.
"We weren't aware that it was," Zordon said.
"Well, I've found the problem," Billy said. "It was accidentally forced off-line when all hell broke lose up there. The computers are trying to keep track of human lives, and the numerous hurricanes, tornadoes, et cetera."
"Oh no," Trini said, moving over to Zordon's tube. There was a large, rectangular screen just to the left of it. There was a flat map of the entire globe. Red hurricanes, tiny blips representing hurricanes, and numerous other horrific anomalies covered the entire map. But what terrified her was the population display. "Two point seven billion," Trini said quietly. "Nearly half of the planet has died."
"I will set to work getting the teleportation and communication systems on line immediately," Alpha said.
"How long will it take?" Jason asked.
"The better part of an hour I'm afraid," the robot said.
"That's too long," Billy said. "Zordon, the lava is getting closer and closer to the Zord Holding Bay. We need to move the Zords deeper into the Earth."
"Alpha," Zordon said, "prepare Holding Bay Omega."
"Omega?" Aisha asked.
"There's a holding bay directly below the Power Chamber, only about two miles down. It's large enough for all of the Zords, but we don't keep them there because it's too much trouble to teleport them out of it," Billy explained. "But right now we don't have a choice. Besides, there, Zordon's spell will protect it."
"How do we get them down there without our teleportation system?" Zack asked.
"There's a service tunnel big enough for all of the Zords," Billy said. "We'll have to drive them."
"Skull," Alpha said, "I have DragonZord back on line and programmed to work with your Dragon Dagger. You shall call her from the sea and bring her to Omega Bay." Skull nodded in agreement.
"We have to climb back up that ladder, don't we?" Zack asked.
"Unless you know of another way," Billy said, walking out of the Power Chamber.
"Please hurry, Rangers," Alpha said. "And be careful."
Trini took one last look at the population display before she left. It had already dropped to 2.6 billion.