Disclaimer: All of the villains belong to Saban. All of the Psycho Ranger teens in THIS fic were created by me, although the Psycho Ranger concept itself was created by Saban.
Author's Notes : This is the third fic of the Quadruplet Fics of Earth Crystals. See previous disclaimers for more info on it. I'm nearing the end of the Quadruplet fics (but not the end of Earth Crystals. I'm far too stubborn to give this up.) Hope everyone likes it.
By Jeremy Ray Logsdon
"There is no explanation for evil. It must be looked upon as a necessary part of the order of the universe. To ignore it is childish; to bewail it, senseless." – W. Somerset Maugham
Black Roots
Monika Hammond snapped to attention. She looked around, seeing nothing familiar. As she glanced down at her body, she saw that she was no longer wearing her normal Black Ninja Ranger armor. Instead, what she wore was a grotesque, yet strangely appealing, suit of… well, Ranger armor. Since there was no one around, she reached up and removed her helmet. Promptly, her body returned to her demorphed state. Her "Ranger breasts" faded away, she shrank a good six inches, and her arms and legs were no longer packed with muscle. She was, after all, just twelve years old. Her thirteenth birthday was still a month away.
She turned the helmet over in her hands. Instead of the Cobra image she had expected to see, there was a distorted, twisted face. She was only a heart beat from powering down when she realized that she probably shouldn't.
What on Earth HAD happened to her, then? She couldn't really remember. She was fighting a monster with the others, and then… She was here.
"I see you have come to," a very calm voice said. Monika spun around hurriedly, her blonde and black hair spinning with her.
"Who are you?" she spat, dropping back into a defensive stance. The man, or being, standing before her was made of black stone, complete with a green grid-work traversing his entire body.
"I am Ecliptor," he answered. "Your hair is very, very interesting. Are you of the Darian ancestral line?"
Monika reached up to brush her hair out of her face. She knew she had very unusual hair, but it had become her trademark. It was long with just a small amount of curl, and a light, almost platinum, blonde. Two streaks of black ran through it, each coming down over her temples to frame her face. Her friends, at least the ones who knew it wasn't dyed, teased her about having black roots.
"My father was from Daria," Monika answered coolly. "And my mother is from Earth, where I've spent my entire life."
"Of course," Ecliptor said. "Daria doesn't exist anymore. I've given you my name; can I request yours?"
"Monika," she told him. "Monika Hammond."
"It is a pleasure, Monika," Ecliptor said, extending his hand. She stared at the extended appendage for several moments. "You are from Earth's future, yes? Is this gesture no longer in use?"
"I'm just not sure if I should trust you… Ecliptor. That's a name. What does that tell me about you?"
"It's a handshake," Ecliptor told her. His voice was so strangely calm. She had never heard anything like it in her life. "You are a Ranger, and I am not. Provided I would be foolish enough to try something, which I am not, then you could obviously protect yourself."
Monika quickly extended her hand, grabbed his, and pumped it a few times. "Why I am here, Ecliptor?"
"Before I answer your question, could you please answer a question of mine?" With no answer forthcoming, he went ahead and asked, "You have never heard of me… Do I not exist in your world?"
"There are a lot of things in 'my world' I've never met. Now, answer my question."
"You are in an alternate past," Ecliptor lied. "If this timeline is not stopped and destroyed, your future, and our reality, will never exist. Do you know anything of time travel?"
"Very little."
(Good,) Ecliptor thought inwardly. "That could make our discussion a bit more awkward," Ecliptor told her. "But the Power Rangers, as your history has recorded them, no longer exist here."
"What do you mean?" Monika asked, suddenly absorbed in his calm but brief monologue.
"Zordon of Eltare was recently destroyed," Ecliptor said.
"Zordon," Monika murmured. "Zordon is our mentor."
"There is an impostor in the Command Center. Upon the real Zordon's death, the forces of evil claimed the Earth Crystals."
"But… we have them," Monika said.
"This is an alternate past. We must set this time straight, or your future will never occur."
"How do we do that?"
"You must defeat the Power Rangers."
"That's ridiculous!" Monika cried. "WE'RE the Power Rangers!"
"From a different future," Ecliptor told her calmly. "And if you don't defeat the Rangers, your future, and you, will never exist. The fate of your entire timeline is resting on your shoulders."
"And you want us to stop it?"
"You must stop it."
"How do I get home?"
"You stop it."
Monika thought about that for a moment. "Where do I begin?"
Mellow Yellow
"Well, good morning sleepy-head," a calm voice said cheerfully.
Montana Scott slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in a foreign room. The sheets were deliciously cool against his bare skin. (Why am I undressed?)
"I see that you are finally awake," the same voice said again. Montana looked up to see an attractive Asian lady standing over him.
"Where am I?" Montana asked. "And who are you?"
"You're in the past," the lady answered, "and my name is Sabrina." Actually Scorpina, she had lost her trademark armor and was using her assumed Earth name. She feared that any child of Jason Scott would know all about the evil warriors of the Dynasty, especially herself and Goldar.
"The past?"
Smiling supportively, Scorpina nodded and said, "Yes sir. We brought you here because we need your assistance."
"Where is my clothing?" Montana asked hotly. He kept the sheets bunched around his waist to keep himself covered. But by the same token, he was taking advantage of his physique. He crossed his powerful arms across his massive, muscular chest, playing up on his physical features. He had inherited his father's genes for muscularity, although he had put in plenty of hours on the weight bench to develop his physique to its best. His size had kept him out of many a situation, although he was fully capable of defending himself.
"Traveling through time took a lot out of you," Scorpina said. "I wanted to make sure you could rest well, so I had one of the guys up here put you to bed." She pointed to a nearby chair where his jeans and shirt lay neatly folded. "Don't worry; we left you your briefs. Though I would have expected you to be a boxers man."
"No, thanks," Montana answered. "Boxers are for under-endowed men." He immediately blushed as he realized how frank he was being with this young woman he had just met. "I'm sorry, that's a running joke between me and my dad. I didn't mean-"
"Don't sweat it, Montana. I'm a big girl. I can handle far worse locker room talk than THAT. I'll leave you to get dressed, and then I'd like to talk with you for a while." She paused for emphasis before continuing, "We really need your help."
"The moon has been empty for a VERY long time," Montana told Scorpina. "In my world, anyhow."
"Your world is quite different than ours," Scorpina said. "Without your help, your world won't exist."
"How do we get home?" Montana asked.
Scorpina smiled. This Yellow Ranger was quite mellow. Other than the brief panic attack he had had in the bedroom, he wasn't reacting at much of anything. "When the future is restored-"
"How?"
"You'll defeat the evil Ranger impostors," she said. "That will restore the timeline, the good Rangers of this time will be returned, and you'll be whisked back to the future. Are you in?"
"I'm in," he said simply.
True Blue
"Well that's just plain weird," Christian DeSantos muttered as he inspected his new helmet. He ran his fingers through his close-cropped blondish-brown hair, frowning as he took in his black glove. (That should be white,) he grumbled mentally.
"Lotsa stuff up here is weird," a male voice said. Christian snapped to attention, stepping into a defensive stance. He turned to see a bulky Hispanic guy standing in the doorway to his room.
"Where are my friends?" Christian snapped.
"I dunno," the man, who was actually Rito Revolto, answered. He ambled over to Christian, who didn't break stance. He extended his hand for a handshake and said, "My name is Robert."
Christian looked at him in confusion for a few moments before extending a black-gloved hand to Robert. "Blue Ranger," Christian said.
"That the only name you willing to give me?" Rito asked.
"For now."
"Fair enough," Rito said with a shrug. "So… you're the Blue Ranger?"
"Cut the small talk. What's going on?"
"Cut the small talk," Rito mused. "Okee dokee. You're in the past, we need your help to save your future."
"Give me the longer explanation."
"Zordon of Eltare has been defeated, his Ranger team has been kidnapped, and an alternate team of evil Ranger has taken their place. We need you to defeat them. When they're defeated, the good Rangers, your parents, will be freed, and your future will come BACK into existence. Longer?"
"You need our help?"
"Yeppers."
"Then I guess I'm honor bound to help," Christian said with a firm, set face. "After all, that's what Power Rangers do."
"Yes," Rito agreed. "That is what Power Rangers do…"
Tickled Pink
As Faith Prince removed her helmet, she shook her blonde hair free. "Oh, this is so NOT what I had in mind," she griped, looking at her mostly black armor. "What fashion reject came up with this template for Ranger armor?"
"Hey, babe," a tall, lanky man greeted. He had extremely long brown hair and a thin face with sharp features. He was not what Faith would have called handsome, but he had a pleasing enough air about him. Even in his evil form of Elgar, he carried a likable quality.
"Hey," Faith returned. "Uhm, like, what happened to my armor?"
"Uhh… I dunno," Elgar admitted. "What did it look like before?"
"Oh, it was so cool!" Faith cried. "Well, you see, we were Ninja Rangers, so my helmet was my totem animal, which was the dolphin. And that's really weird, because my Zord is a NinjaDolphinZord, actually, but we like never fight in water. Instead, I just fly around in the sky, like the sky is the ocean, y'know?"
"Uh huh," Elgar said, nodding.
"Well anyway, my helmet was like a dolphin, sorta. There was a dolphin beak that stuck down through the center of my visor, and the whole think was pink. Anyway, the rest of the armor was pink, too, and there were like these really pretty silver and white highlights on my armor. There was a white circle in the center of my chest, and two silver diamonds on each side of it, and in the center of that white circle was a great big gold power coin looking thing, with a dolphin in it. Also, the gloves were really awesome. They weren't nasty and black like this. They were mostly white, but there were alternating silver and pink diamonds that ran all around the wrist. They were on the boots, too. It was SO cool. But now, I'm like the Black with Pink Highlights Ranger, and my helmet looks like somebody's nightmare with horns. Do you know what happened to my armor?"
"Uhh…"
"Maybe if I like demorph," Faith thought aloud, mostly to herself, "I can remorph and I'll look normal again." With a little mental effort, her armor disappeared in a spray of pink light.
"Wow, you really are a babe," Elgar mused, looking her over. She was dressed in a blue cheerleading outfit that greatly pleased him.
"Oh, thank you," Faith grinned. She puffed her chest out, gesturing at the silver 'Captain' script across her left breast. "I'm the Captain of the Angel Grove Tigerettes. Well, we're not technically supposed to be the Tigerettes anymore, because we have some guy cheerleaders. The Blue Ranger, Christian, he's a cheerleader, too.
"And it's like really weird, because people are always saying, 'Wow, you two would be a totally cute couple.' You know, because I'm like really blonde, and totally gorgeous, and he's sorta blonde, and a hunk. But thing is, we're like cousins, so that's just totally wrong. We get SO tired of people always saying that we would look so cute together. I mean, we do look cute together, but I like cute with anyone, ya know?"
"Yes," Elgar agreed, hanging on her every word.
"Anyhow," Faith said, shaking her arms, "let's see if this works. It's Morphin Time! Pink Dolphin Power!" She held a Ninja Morpher out before her, and pink light swirled up around her. When it died down, she was once again clad in her Pink Psycho armor.
"Oh, I hate this!" she whined, yanking her helmet off again. "It's black, again! Do you know why this happened?"
"It, uh, probably happened because you're, like, in the past, and you just don't have a very strong link to the morphin grid, so rather than decrease your power, it decreased the actual physical appearance of your suit," Elgar suggested.
"Wow," Faith said slowly. "Are you like a nerd? Not that I mind. Really, I don't. My dad is a nerd. I have great respect for those who are intelligent. It's just that what you said sounds like something a VERY smart person would say."
"Why yes," Elgar said, standing proudly. "I AM a nerd."
"I thought so," Faith smiled. "Oh, I never introduced myself." Faith hop-skipped across the room, landing daintily before Elgar. "My name is Faith."
"Elgar," Elgar returned, completely forgetting to use an assumed name.
"Nice to meetcha, Elgar," Faith said with a grin. "So, I'm in the past. What's the year?"
"1997."
"Wow. That's like… ancient history. What am I doing here?"
"We need you to save the planet," Elgar told her. "Then we'll take you back to the future."
"Okay," Faith agreed. "Can you like make sure I get back to the future before Wednesday, though. Uhm, that'll be August 14, 2019. 'Cause there is like this MASSIVE Back-To-School sale, and if I can't go to that, I am not going to be pleased."
White Lie
"You're lying to me," Andrew Cranston said plainly.
Rygog frowned. He had not been expecting the quiet, intelligent White Ranger to say that. "I am not," Rygog insisted, scratching his head. He was currently passing himself off as a being of light. The White Ranger had snapped out of his stupor so quickly Rygog hadn't had time to think up a human name or visage. He considered himself lucky to have hidden his true appearance before Andrew noticed.
"Yes, you are," Andrew said. "If we are from the future, then the past couldn't have been destroyed. You're looking at a temporal paradox. If MY past was annihilated, then I couldn't be here. My parents, Billy and Trini Cranston, would have died before they could have had me, let alone raise me. They are still there in the time I just left. You're lying."
"Do you know anything about time travel?" Rygog asked.
"Yeah, I know quite a bit about it," Andrew answered, pushing his silver-frame glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Not enough," Rygog answered.
Placing a bite-me smile on his face, Andrew said, "Then please, explain it to me how this is possible."
"You are looking at the situation from the wrong side," Rygog said calmly. "You aren't going to stop a paradox. You're going to set one straight."
"Keep going."
"For every decision than can be made, an alternate universe is created," Rygog answered. "The multiverse stretches into infinity."
"Actually, my father has reasons to believe that isn't entirely true," Andrew challenged. "Even the multiverse has to obey the law of physics, and in order for a new world to be created, every single molecule in the universe would have to be able to duplicate itself, instantly. And even more times than that. An infinite number of times, for infinity. If the original universe had to do that, it would have blown itself to bits in the first tiniest fragment of time. Chaos theory is totally bunk, but even that makes more sense than the multiverse-expanding-infinitely belief. Quite plainly, the only way for a multiverse to exist is for there to be an outside, alien force."
"Like a deity."
"Exactly."
"But you do believe in the Multiverse."
"Of course. Both my parents traveled the multiverse when they were just a little older than me," Andrew said. "The Multiverse is real. And it does go into infinity. It just isn't expanding for infinity with every single decision everything makes. It's impossible."
"Okay, let's assume then this universe diverged," Rygog said. "Just once. Would you believe that's possible."
"Just once? Yeah, I could believe that."
"The date of divergence we are interested in occurred on November 21, 1997. Our universe split into a diverse."
"Like splitting a piece of wood," Andrew suddenly realized. "Two otherwise identical timelines diverge from the same universe, and both are attached. Eventually, one will have to be destroyed so that the other can exist."
"The universe hasn't split yet," Rygog said. "But it's going to. We have to make sure that YOUR timeline is the one that exists. And we can't do that without your help."
"You should have said that in the first place," Andrew said. "Count me signed on."
Green with Envy
Prince Gasket, disguised as a Japanese man, sat beside Green Ranger Xander Park. "So you want the girl, huh?"
"She's not 'my type,'" Xander sighed, tossing his distorted helmet from one gloved hand to the other.
"What's your type?"
"Heck if I know," Xander muttered.
"I think she is your type," Gasket announced. "You'll all serious like your dad, Faith is all carefree like her mom. You'd be perfect together."
"That's not the end of the problem," Xander said. "Andrew is trying to get up the guts to ask her out."
"How do you know?"
"He asked me if I think he should or not."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him to go for it," Xander groaned.
"Well that was stupid."
"Tell me about it."
Gasket mused silently before suggesting, "What would you say if I told you there is a way you can get Faith."
"I'd like to know what it is."
"It's an 'I-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine' kinda thing," Gasket told him. "We need your help defeating the evil Rangers that are plaguing the Earth right now. If you'll help us, then I will make absolutely certain to make you look better to Faith than Andrew does. Whaddya say?"
"I don't want to do anything to Andrew," Xander said. Even if he was envious of his best buddy, he didn't want to actually hurt him.
"I'm not going to make Andrew look bad. I'm just going to make you look great."
A warm smile lit Xander's face as he considered the situation. "In that case, I'll help."
Red Rum
Hillari Oliver launched into Goldar, disguised as a tall Native American man, with a flying high kick. He shouted angrily and dove to the side, casting a simple spell as he did so. Once again, the Red Psycho Ranger turned to stone.
He regathered himself, staring at the frozen form before him. She was still fully morphed, and apparently, she was mad. He had tried to calmly and rationally explain to her the situation, but every time he did so, she came after him in a white-hot fury.
"Dark Spectre," Goldar requested. In a red flicker of fire, Jenga's right-hand man appeared beside him.
"Yes, Goldar?" the humanoid column of red light asked.
"Would you please bring me some ropes?" Goldar inquired. "This punk Ranger is going to kill me if I don't tie her up."
As Hillari came back to consciousness, she found herself unmorphed and tied to a pole. "Hey!" she cried, struggling with her ropes.
"Don't bother morphing," Goldar said as he came back into the room. "The ropes are magical; even a Ranger can't break free."
"What do you want with me?!" Hillari shouted angrily, struggling futilely with the binds.
"If you weren't so blasted hostile, we could have been done with this long ago," Goldar sighed. "Stop struggling, please, it's very distracting."
Hillari, frowning, leaned against the pole. "I'm listening."
"We need your help."
"And there IS no better way to get it than to abduct us," Hillari scowled.
"We didn't have a lot of time," Goldar said calmly. "Without your assistance, you won't even exist. We just didn't have the time to send a friendly letter."
"What do you need us for?"
"There are evil Rangers on Earth," Goldar began. "They've overthrown the original Rangers, your parents. We need to rescue your parents, and we just can't do that without a team of Rangers."
"Just who are you?" Hillari asked.
"Time cops," Goldar lied. "We have to set this timeline right."
"I still don't believe you," Hillari snarled.
"I'm not surprised," Goldar said. "Your father is just as blasted stubborn as you are."
"You know Daddy?"
"Of course."
"I want to talk to my friends," Hillari told him. "I want to know what they have to say, and I'll agree to help if they do."
"Deal."
Silver Lining
"Well, we're Power Rangers," Jacquelynn said. "We're honorbound to defend the world, even if it's before we're even going to come into existence."
"I'm glad you feel this way," Ivan, currently in his human form as a middle-aged British man, told her. "However, your teammate Hillari does not agree." The two were walking through the hallways of the Lunar Palace, headed for a meeting room.
"I'll convince her of it," Jacquelynn mentioned. "She and Montana are older than the rest of us. They just have a tendency to look out for us TOO much."
"How did you end up being the leader if you're so much younger?"
"Just younger than those two," Jacquelynn answered. "It's a LONG complicated story involving Hill and Mont's dads. Very complex."
"Here we are," Ivan said. "I'll just be outside the room if you need me. Take as much time as you like with your charges."
"Thanks," Jacquelynn said, stepping into the room. She shut the door behind her, and found herself standing in a fair-sized conference room, decorated in Earth tones.
Her fellow Rangers sat or stood around the table that filled the majority of the room, some morphed and some unmorphed. All were talking amongst themselves, and the only serious deviation from the norm was Hillari, tied to a pole in one corner of the room.
"Hillari," Jacquelynn said.
"Don't you dare forget that I am older than you," Hillari threatened good-naturedly as Jacquelynn came over to untie her.
"Why didn't any of the others untie you?" Jacquelynn asked.
"She didn't ask," Montana said quickly.
"Most of us have agreed to help," Monika said suddenly, glancing over at Hillari.
"I guess I just have a trouble trusting these total strangers who have yanked us through time and space and want us to defeat a team of so-called 'Evil Rangers,'" Hillari said. "Right Jacquelynn?"
"No, it's just you," she answered simply. "I'm willing to help, and I'm hoping you'll all go along with me."
Hillari's face showed a look of horror for a moment, but it quickly disappeared. She shoved it into the back of her mind and said, "My father has always said you were the best leader of any of Zordon's teams. Himself included. He says you're a natural-born leader who doesn't even consider yourself a leader, not even subconsciously."
Jacquelynn started to say something, but Montana interrupted her. "So does my dad," Montana told her.
"If you think… if you believe this to be in our best interest, then I'll go along with it," Hillari conceded. As the ropes were freed, she rubbed her sides idly. "Even if I don't like it, which I don't, I'll go along with it."
"Thank you," Jacquelynn mouthed. She truly hated being the leader of the Rangers. Hillari and Montana were both older than she was, and they had more Ranger experience. Regardless, however, Tommy Oliver, Jason Scott, and Zordon all said she was the best leader for the team. It came naturally to her, and she truly hated that. But a lot of conversations with the generation of Rangers before her had convinced her that the best thing for herself, her teammates, and the Earth itself was to be the leader she was obviously destined to be.
"So, I guess I tell Ivan that we're up for it," Jacquelynn finished. "Yes? Everyone agreed?"
"Can you see her, Zedd?" Divatox asked. Jenga's burly son was staring out into space, his visor glowing with an intense red light.
"Yes," he said. "They are almost there."
"It's taken so much longer than it should have," Divatox muttered.
"They'll be home in a few days," Zedd told her, shutting off his long-distance vision.
"Estimate," Divatox ordered.
"Five."
"Just enough," she decided. She snapped her hand, and Dark Spectre appeared in a glimmer of red light. "Dark Spectre, round everyone except the Psychos up. Have them continue training. We're having a conference. Now."
"Yes, Divatox," he said before disappearing.
Divatox's Report to the UAE
Department : Planetary Takeover
File Date : 14.5532.9832.XY (Earth Date : November 15, 1997)
I, Divatox, temporary head of the Dynasty of the Apocalypse, submit this report as an official file. We have claimed Earth as our territory, and we this report serves as an advance warning that we expect to have conquered the Earth and her inhabitants by November 21, 1997, Earth-time.
At that point, the inhabitants of this planet shall be divided into three categories. Those who are fit physically shall be sold into slavery in UAE sanctioned situations. Those who are fit mentally shall be presented to the UAE where they may be used as see fit. Those who are not deemed fit mentally or physically shall be used as a fuel source. We reserve the right to keep any humans we deem worthy for any purpose we deem worthy, ranging from culinary purposes to sexual favors. However, the percentage of Homo sapien sapiens kept for this purpose will be negligible.
Jenga Xett, true head of the Dynasty of the Apocalypse and the UAE, shall then take the thirteen Earth Crystals into her possession (see Ref. File# 445.998.120.96693.454.RF) and destroy the Morphin Grid as it is currently known in this universe. Upon completion of this task, the vast majority of Rangers in the universe will be unable to morph.
We have been training teenagers from Earth's future to defeat the Power Rangers of Earth for many weeks now. We have kept them sheltered from the effects of time. While three months have actually passed, they have experienced it as two days. They are not, in the truest sense of the word, evil. They believe they are fighting for good, and we have taken great pains to keep the truth hidden from them.
While these teenagers will not exist in the Earth's future after completion of our goal, a time paradox will not result. These teens have been pulled from an alternate sub-reality of this dimension. Their existence or lack thereof will not be a hamper to our goal, as stated in Riaget's Temporal Paradox Law. We have merely created a sub-reality, and this is the reality that they will be sent back to upon successful completion of their goal. Of course, once contact is lost with this reality, their sub-reality will cease to exist, but this is also no concern of ours.
We file this report to give you advance notice. Jenga shall return shortly, and we are going to attempt to coincide the destruction of the Earth Rangers with Jenga's return. Immediately following her return, we expect things to move swiftly.
With your willing cooperation, we expect that evil should reign supreme in this universe within two UAE years.
Seal of the Dynasty of the Apocalypse
"To recap, this is our plan," Divatox said, walking around the large room. "Day one, we send the Psychos down for just an introduction.
"Day two, nothing.
"Day three, we send the Psychos down only after the Power Rangers have already been riled up. The first fight. They retreat, only when it is obvious that victory could be theirs.
"Day four, again, nothing.
"Day five, a full-scale attack. Major destruction, the war will end on Friday afternoon with our victory. At that point, we send the Psychos… elsewhere.
"Questions? Comments? … Snide remarks?"
Silence was her answer. "Good. People, go psych your Psychos. Get them ready to make their introduction."
Confrontation, One
"Turbo Rangers," Monika growled under her breath. "How dare they imitate my mother?!"
"Easy, Monika," Hillari said soothingly. "They're just imitating her. We're here to rescue her."
"I know how she feels," Montana muttered under his breath. He stared intently at the Black Turbo Ranger off in the distance. That was his mother's armor, and to think that an impostor was copying her…
"Don't you lost it either, Montana," Hillari said, placing a hand on her boyfriend's arm. "We can't afford to have both of you snap on us."
"Maybe one, though," Faith, the Pink Ranger, joked.
"Look!" Red Turbo shouted, pointing at the eight Rangers standing in line.
Blue Ranger Christian fell into a defensive stance. A quick glance at his teammates revealed that they were all standing likewise. Each had their own fighting style; the training they had undergone recently had been both physical and mental. Physically, they had never been more prepared. Mentally, well, he just hoped that they were strong enough to take these Rangers on.
"Remember what Ivan told us," Jacquelynn said to her teammates. That said, the Silver Ranger stepped forward to face the Turbo Rangers.
"Who are you?" Red Turbo suddenly asked.
"Silver Ranger," Jacquelynn answered. "And yourself?"
"We're the Turbo Rangers," he said, crossing his arms across his chest.
"He's cocky," White Ranger Andrew muttered to Xander.
"All evil people are," Xander shot back.
"Evil?!" Blue Turbo protested. "We aren't evil!"
"No way!" Pink Turbo agreed.
"Yeah, right," Hillari spat, stepping up beside Jacquelynn. "We've seen the video logs of the damage you all have done!"
"Damage?!" Yellow Turbo cried. "We're the Earth's defenders!"
"You're posing as the Earth's defenders!" Monika shouted. "What have you done with my-"
"Hush!" Christian chided, grabbing Monika by the shoulders and pulling her close. Whispering, he said, "You can't give them any ammo."
"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly.
"We know you're cowards," Jacquelynn told them, stepping ever closer to Red Turbo.
"Jack, be careful," Hillari warned.
"She knows what she's doing," Montana said, mostly to himself.
"We know how evil people work," Jacquelynn said. She stopped directly in front of the stunned Red Turbo Ranger, leaning even closer to him. "And we've been specially trained, just for the purpose of defeating you. Give up while you still can. Rangers, let's go." In eight frantically bouncing teleport streams, the team that had been dubbed the Psycho Rangers behind their backs disappeared.
Hillari looked at her teammates. Something was definitely up. She didn't know what it was just yet, but she didn't like it. "You can feel it too, huh?" Jacquelynn suddenly asked from behind her.
With a cry of alarm, Hillari spun around. She immediately calmed down as she realized it was her teammate. "Something is just wrong," Hillari said.
"How do you mean?"
"I have the distinct impression that we're under the influence of some kind of… something," Hillari said. "I can't figure out why, though. Unless…"
"Guys, we need you, fast!" Ivan cried as he ran into the room. "The Turbo Rangers are attacking some innocent citizens in the park!"
"We'll talk later," Jacquelynn promised.
Confrontation, Two
Montana flew backwards, landing on his back and rolling completely over from the force of Blue Turbo's Hand Blasters. The Yellow Ranger groggily climbed to his feet, still reeling from the force of the collision. Before he could even think about returning the attack, however, Jacquelynn launched through the air, kicking Blue Turbo backwards.
Pink Turbo and Pink Psycho were trading blows. Faith and her similar-colored counterpart were similarly matched, skill-wise. However, Faith suddenly got the upper-hand when Christian swept past them, knocking Pink Turbo off-balance. Faith delivered a devastating upper cut, knocking Pink Turbo off of her feet and sending her into Red Turbo.
Monika shrieked like a banshee as she ran at Yellow Turbo. She took the Ranger off-guard, slamming into her in a football-player's tackle. As the Yellow Turbo Ranger fell to the ground, Monika dropped into place above her, straddling her thighs. Curling one hand into a tight fist, she raised it up above her head and brought it down with all of her strength.
Suddenly, a blade slashed across her chest, and black sparks jumped out from the contact. Her arm fell weakly at her side, and she looked up in time to see Red Turbo's boot smash into her arm.
"Ashley!" Red Turbo cried, tugging her by the arm and pulling her away.
"That was too close!" Yellow Turbo protested.
"Way too close!" Andrew, White Ranger, yelled as he practically flew over Monika. He extended both legs at the same time, kicking Red and Yellow Turbos simultaneously. "You okay, Mon?!" Andrew cried, spinning around to look at her as soon as he touched ground.
"Yeah," she winced, gingerly rubbing her chest. "I'm okay."
Black Turbo spun through the air, managing to get one good kick in on Green Psycho, Xander. Green Turbo, beside her, executed a quick high kick, adding extra punch to her attack. Xander flew backwards, landing in a heap on the ground.
"Look," Green Turbo said to Black Turbo, pointing off to the sidelines.
"A Red Psycho," Black Turbo realized. "Why isn't she doing anything?"
"Why isn't that fool doing anything?!" Divatox bellowed. Hillari was standing on the sidelines with her arms folded across her chest, making no move to attack anyone.
"The Turbo Rangers are terrified," Lord Zedd said. "They aren't used to evil Rangers. And Black Ranger… she doesn't stand a chance in this fight. Still hits too close to home."
"Call them back," Ivan Ooze said suddenly. "We'll be sending them down again in two days. We'll alter their reality again, make it seem like it's happening in one hour. We'll put a temporary spell on Hillari."
"We'll make them all evil," Divatox continued, smiling wickedly. "They're a temporal paradox, just by being here. It doesn't matter if we break a few laws. Before long, they won't even exist. We can do whatever we please with those eight."
Divatox whistled sharply, beckoning for a few of the Dynasty's henchmen. As they appeared quickly, she ordered, "Become human and call the Psychos back, now."
"Wait," Ivan Ooze interrupted before the henchmen disappeared. "Bring them to the Space Base. I'll go scrounge up some weapons…" He stroked the purple horns on his chin thoughtfully. "May as well make it a bit… easier, for them."
"One hour of flawless training," Divatox said, picking up on his train of thought. "They become confident; success will be easier gained that way. NOW GO!"
"We could have beaten them today!" Montana yelled angrily.
"Hillari, a word, please," Ivan said. "Out in the hall."
"Tired because I'm not doing your dirty work for you?" Hillari snarled. However, even so, she stood and left the room, leaving her deformed helmet on the table.
As soon as she stepped out into the hallway, a beam of red light hit her. Zedd pointed his Z-staff at her, channeling a powerful surge of evil energy into her body. She groaned once in protest, and then, she was silent. He broke the energy stream, and Hillari's eyes flickered red, briefly and just once. "Back," he ordered. "Remember not."
She nodded and walked back into the room. The other Rangers were currently arguing amongst themselves and their trainers. Jacquelynn was trying to get the attention in her direction, but the other Rangers were too wound up and angry to pay much attention.
"SILENCE!" Hillari demanded, pounding her fist into the table. Even in stand-by mode, she went clear through the table, sending wooden shards everywhere. A few of her fellow Rangers jumped, Monika emitted a short scream, and Jacquelynn turned to look at her curiously. "Jacquelynn," Hillari said calmly, gesturing at their leader.
"Thank you," Jacquelynn said. "Rangers, you're forgetting something. We aren't the evil ones, here."
"Good point!" Ivan cried, jumping on her bandwagon. He just hoped that Zedd's spell on Hillari was going to provide the catalyst the team needed for their fall from grace. As it were, they were angry. Hostile. Ready to fight. He needed them much worse. Hungry for a fight. Homicidal.
"Wrong," Hillari said, standing up.
"Pardon?" Goldar, in her trainer's disguise, growled.
"We aren't evil, that part is correct," Hillari said in her near monotone. "However, we need to act evil. Fighting fair, what we were doing out there, is NOT going to win us this war."
"We weren't fighting fair!" Jacquelynn protested. "Monika nearly drove her fist through Yellow Turbo's chest!"
"You can't kill a Power Ranger with one punch," Monika sneered, obviously torked by Jacquelynn's comment.
"Get off your high horse, Jacquelynn," Hillari snarled, standing up. Jacquelynn reeled from the comment as though she had just taken a punch. The last thing she had ever expected to hear from Hillari was… well, something like that. "If we expect to win, we're gonna have to fight a little dirty. This isn't some simple backyard Ranger fight. This concerns our very existence. And if that means I have to fight dirty, then you better believe I'm gonna fight dirty."
Jacquelynn stared in absolute horror. She couldn't even find any words to say.
"Come on, you," Hillari said to Goldar. "We're training." She picked up her helmet and strolled out of the room, not even casting a glance in Jacquelynn's direction.
"Okay, was anybody else like really scared just then?" Faith asked nervously. Elgar was the first to raise his hand.
Elgar, in his human disguise, easily moved through the throng of Psycho Rangers and trainers in one of the Space Bases' gyms. He headed for Faith, currently training alone. "I need you to do something," he whispered. "Say nothing, though, okay? Nod if you understand."
Faith slowly nodded.
"Don't let any one of us see this sheet of paper," he warned her, tucking it into Faith's palm. "Don't even read it yourself. Give it to Jacquelynn. I'm going to get Ivan away from her. And tell her to read fast and then put it in her pocket UNDER her armor."
"All right," Faith said, glancing at the note in her hand. "I'll do it."
Dear Jacquelynn,
I know this will be hard to believe, but you must trust me. Your very existence is at stake. And if you tell anyone that I wrote you this letter, my life, too, will come to an end.
You are not fighting evil Rangers. You are fighting the good Rangers of Angel Grove. It is you who are serving evil. We are the Dynasty of the Apocalypse.
Before you ask, yes, I serve evil. But so that you will not waste unnecessary energy determining why I do this, I'll just tell you now. I like my place in life. I like how things are. If you destroy the Power Rangers, things won't be like they are now. I don't want evil to be on top. I just like the fight, and that's how I want to keep it.
Hillari has been placed under an intense spell. This is why she has just recently begun to act very out of character. You all are acting differently, though. You think you have been here for two days. You have actually been here for almost three months. What you thought was physical training for a fight to save the world has actually been an intense process of personality reformation. This is while you all, yourself included, have become more aggressive as of late. Hillari was the least effected, which is why a real spell has been placed on her.
They are expecting you to destroy the Power Rangers the next battle. It will actually be two days from now. You will experience it as one hour. Before the fight, they will place the same spell on you as is now on Hillari.
There is only one thing I can recommend you do. In forty-five minutes, follow the map on the back of this letter. (If you go before forty-five minutes have passed, you will undoubtedly be caught. It will be about thirty minutes from now that you will be affected by an induced temporal anomaly. Tell ONLY Montana. Now that Hillari has been turned evil, you two have been the least affected by your training.
Act as EVIL as you possibly can. Copy Hillari. This is the only chance you have at not getting a true evil spell placed on you. Be careful, and good luck.
Signed, Elgar
P.S. – This note will self-destruct in five seconds.
P.P.S. – It won't really, but I've always wanted to say that.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Montana asked.
"Looks like," Jacquelynn said, tapping the map with her finger. "It says storage room."
"Wait a minute," Montana said, grabbing her arm and pulling her down a short side passage. He opened a door, and a soft, bluish-green glow floated out toward them.
"Oh my gosh," Jacquelynn sighed, stepping into the room. Montana followed her inside, shutting it behind her.
"Rangers?" Dimitria asked, opening her eyes slowly.
"Dimitria," Montana whispered.
"You know me?"
"You and Zordon are our mentors," Jacquelynn told her, "but we are from the future. I don't guess there's any way you could know us."
"We really have been working for evil," Montana muttered. "Oh God, I'm going to be sick…"
"We don't have time for that," Jacquelynn said sternly.
"Can you rescue me?" Dimitria asked in desperation.
"There doesn't seem to be much of a way to get a tube this big out without being noticed," Jacquelynn murmured.
"Do you possess any self-teleportation skills?" Dimitria inquired.
"Yeah, it comes with our Ranger Powers," Jacquelynn told her. "Why?"
"Rangers, can you take me to Zordon's headquarters?"
"The Command Center," Montana said. "We can take you there."
Dimitria's intelligent eyes expressed her gratitude.
Confrontation Three
"Ah, TEN Rangers to fight!" Hillari cried out sarcastically. The Turbo Rangers and the Thunder Rangers were running toward what was about to be a massive battlefield.
Save for Montana and Jacquelynn, each Ranger present had been infused with evil. "Montana, you're gonna have to fight with the others," Jacquelynn whispered to him. "Just long enough for me to go get Dimitria."
"ATTACK!" Hillari bellowed. The Psycho Rangers ran off with her, and suddenly, numerous teleportation signals flashed all around them. Hundreds upon hundreds of Tengas, Cogs, Putties, and Piranhatrons appeared all about them.
"Oh my God," Jacquelynn sighed, covering her mouthplate with her hand.
"Go," Montana hissed, running off into the horde of fighters.
In a frantic streak of silver, Jacquelynn bounced around the fighting field and eventually disappeared.
"My God, it's a war," Montana murmured. However, the fear of being discovered snuck up on him again, and he launched himself into the fight.
He ran directly at Black Turbo Ranger. Just before he was close enough to hit her, though, he flipped up into the air. He threw himself out of alignment, yelled as though he had been hit, and slammed into the ground behind her with a thud.
Faith lowered and slammed her right shoulder into Pink Thunder Ranger's stomach. As Pink Thunder fell with the blow, Faith flipped over the Ranger's body and slammed both feet into Yellow Thunder's midsection.
Xander ran at Green Thunder and leapt into the air. She turned, just in time to see the Green Psycho Ranger come barreling at her. He scissor-kicked her at the last minute, earning a cry of pain and sending her to the ground.
Montana's hand landed on a large rock, and he picked it up. To his left, he saw Andrew, White Psycho, running toward Red Turbo. In a guarded motion, Montana heaved the rock toward White Psycho's head, knocking him off track. Montana rolled over, still on the ground, grabbed another rock, and threw it at Blue Psycho Christian, stopping him short. Blue Turbo lashed out with a high kick that just barely missed his same-color Psycho counterpart.
"What did you do that for?!" Christian yelled angrily.
"It wasn't me!" Montana swore, jumping to his feet. (Hurry up, Jacquelynn!)
"Is this thing attached anywhere?" Jacquelynn asked.
"Is there a bracket in back?" Dimitria asked.
Suddenly, the door open. Jacquelynn spun around with a gasp as a tall, pale-skinned monster with a cone-shaped head entered the room. "Back off," Jacquelynn threatened.
"Shhh," the beast said, putting a finger to his lips. "It's Elgar."
Jacquelynn didn't let her guard down. "You tricked me," she hissed.
"No," he said, walking over to the wall. He opened a compartment that she hadn't seen there before, and he flipped a switch. There was a slight hum, and then, silence. The blue light of Dimitria's tube dissipated to just a bare glow. "I just disconnected the Power Source. This way, no alarms will sound when you leave."
"Where am I attached to the wall, Elgar?" Dimitria asked, apparently still connected with the outside world, though she could no longer be seen.
Elgar smiled and whipped out a deck of cards. The cards suddenly shuffled out, forming a sword. He stuck the sword under the edge of her tube and pushed down. It gave a creak, and then, broke loose. "Good luck, Jacquelynn," Elgar said sincerely.
She ran up to the henchman and gave him a quick hug. "Thanks, Elgar," she said. "I mean, thank you." Reaching out with one hand to touch Dimitria's tube, she activated her teleportation. The two of them disappeared in a flash of silver.
Montana looked up as silver light streaked down through the sky and entered the top of the Command Center. He smiled mentally, prepared to teleport into the Command Center himself, when he saw Hillari catch his attention.
"She teleported in the Command Center to destroy the impostor Zordon," Hillari realized. She darted over to her boyfriend, touching his arm with an excited, trembly hand. "She's a genius!" Then, she flared red, and bounced up the mountain.
"NO! Hillari!" Montana cried, teleporting directly after her.
"Aye-yi-yi!" Alpha Five cried. "It's a Psycho Ranger!"
"No!" Jacquelynn cried back, removing her helmet. "I'm not evil, I swear."
"Zordon?" Dimitria asked. "Is that you?"
"Alpha, get some power to her tube!" Jacquelynn encouraged.
"Dimitria?" Zordon asked, staring intently at the darkened tube. It suddenly lit up, and a smile crossed his holographic face as he saw her again.
"We were tricked," Jacquelynn said quickly, "and I'm hoping the two of you can help-"
Before she could finish her thought, red light streaked into the Command Center, forming the Red Psycho Ranger. "Hillari!" Jacquelynn cried.
"Excellent plan, Jack," Hillari practically cooed. "Destroy them from the inside… out." She paused as she realized that Jacquelynn was not fighting.
Yellow light flashed beside Hillari, producing Montana. "Hillari, don't do this," Montana said as he yanked his helmet off.
"You're working for them, now," Hillari realized.
"Red Ranger, stop right there," Zordon boomed.
White light crackled across Zordon's bed of crystals. The thirteenth Earth Crystal, shaped like a pair of wings, glowed brighter than all. Hillari ran at Zordon, and suddenly, a bolt of energy shot from the Crystal and struck Hillari. Her body was overwhelmed with white light, and by the time she had reached the edge of Zordon's energy pedestal, she had slowed to a walk. When the light subsided, she was no longer clad in her Red Psycho Armor. She now wore her real Ranger armor, a shiny red suit with an eagle emblazoned across her helmet.
Jacquelynn and Montana both looked down at their own bodies, startled to see that their armor, too, had reverted to their original design. Jacquelynn's helmet, still sitting on a console, had turned into a tiger design. Montana's, in his hands, was now decorated with the image of a deer.
"Zordon?" Hillari asked, quickly removing her helmet.
"Alpha, secure the Command Center," Zordon ordered. "Allow no one in without our authorization."
"Done, Zordon," Alpha told him.
"Rangers, over the past few months, Alpha and I have ascertained as to what has happened," Zordon told them. "And we know how to send you back to the future. We just had to get you to approach us, as we could obviously not divulge your identity to the current Rangers."
"You figured out who we were?" Jacquelynn asked.
"With one of the helmet functions," Hillari realized. "We have 'em, too. Obviously… I mean, we're just you all in the future."
"The future does not exist yet," Zordon told them. "While your existence is secured, you will not remember any of this."
"I'm sure it is for the best," Jacquelynn sighed. "I have so many questions, but since we aren't going to remember anything…"
"The future you will return to may be quite different than that which you have known thus far," Zordon said. "Your memories will be altered to reflect the changes, and your lives will not be disrupted in the slightest.
"Alpha, teleport the Rangers out of the Command Center," Zordon ordered.
Jacquelynn, Hillari, and Montana looked at each other as they disappeared in three streaks of red, yellow, and silver.
The three Rangers appeared at the base of the mountain the Command Center rested upon. The fight was still raging behind them, but the three made no move to join or stop them. "I wonder how he's going to send us back to the future," Jacquelynn asked.
As if in reply to her question, the Command Center suddenly exploded. That stopped the fight completely. Rangers and fighters alike paused.
"Dear God!" someone cried.
The entire mountain shook as a giant red cloud rose up from the spot where the Command Center had once stood. Golden light shot straight up into the air, flooding the entire sky with light. A golden ring of light surrounded the epicenter of the explosion.
Jacquelynn watched intently as it raced down the mountain and swept through their bodies. Along with all of her teammates, she disappeared, becoming once again nothing more than a glimmer in Aisha Campbell's eye.
"Zeddie!" Rita cried, standing on the balcony of the Lunar Palace.
Klank and Orbus hobbled out of a side hallway and crept up to the side of Lord Zedd's wife. Although their mechanical faces allowed no true emotions, Klank's body language did plenty to express their confusion.
Rito and Goldar appeared in their own signature teleport streams behind Lord Zedd's circle of red. Divatox was close behind him, and she was the first to voice her thoughts. "Good evil… What is that?"
Below them, the Earth was no longer a blue and white sphere. Now, it was a glowing, a ball of golden, liquid light, sparkling magically beneath them.
"What do you think it is?" Lord Zedd asked of anyone in particular, not really expecting an answer.
Light was shooting off of the surface in all directions, and one wide tendril of light lashed off of the planet and headed directly for the moon. Rita turned to her husband, a look of amusement on her face. "I think it's pretty," she said simply as the light drew closer and closer.