Disclaimer: The Power Ranger concept belongs to Saban; I'm just borrowing it for a little while. This fic has properties of "both" teams of Rangers, so be warned if you can't tolerate six of them. All that out of the way,
By Jeremy Ray Logsdon
"Is this the place?" Katherine asked after we rematerialized in the middle of an empty field.
"It might take them a few seconds, Kat," Rocky reminded her.
Suddenly, white light flashed, and a body flew out of thin air and slammed into me, knocking me to the ground. "It's not them!" Katherine cried. Before she had a chance to say anything else, however, red light flashed and a short-haired Tommy Oliver came tumbling out of the reverse end of the portal with a characteristic Tommy Oliver bellow. "Tommy?" Katherine asked hopefully.
The muscular teen sat up and turned in her direction. "Katherine," he sighed as a smile spread across his face.
"Tommy!" Katherine screeched, meeting him halfway. She literally pulled him to his feet and they simultaneously wrapped their arms around each other.
"Uhm, can you get off me now?" I asked the person draped across my body.
"Huh?" she asked, turning her attention away from Tommy and Katherine to look at me. "Oh. I'm sorry." As she crawled away from me, several streaks of brightly multi-colored hair fell forward. Behind her, blue light flashed and a younger traveler came barreling out of the wormhole.
"Justin!" Rocky cried.
"Rocky?" Justin asked as he regathered himself. "We made it!" He ran up to the older Ranger who picked him up off of the ground in a bear hug.
"Are you with them?" I asked as we both stood up.
"Yeah," she said, brushing her hair out of the way. "They picked me up along the way. My name is Sydney. So, you are?"
"Jeremy," I answered, extending my hand. "Do I know you?"
"I look like Neve Campbell," she smiled. Green light flashed, lighting her features, before Skull tumbled out of mid-air. "So is this the world we've been going for, or do you not know?"
"I think it is," I answered her. "We've got five lost Rangers waiting here for a ride home."
"Skull buddy," Jason acknowledged as he helped him to his feet. "What did you do to your hair?"
"What DID you to do to your hair?" Katherine asked, laughing, as she ran her hands over Tommy's scalp.
"Long story," Tommy said, returning the smile. "Oh God, I've missed you so much."
"You shaved your head?!" Rocky asked of Justin. "Rebecca is gonna kick your butt!"
Finally, yellow light flared up and Trini throttled out of thin air, colliding with Jason and nearly knocking him off of his feet. "Trini!" Jason cried. She looked up to see who her captor was and laughed outloud.
"Jason!" she shouted, turning to give him a firmer hug.
"Where is Kimberly?" Skull asked anxiously.
Billy and Kimberly hiked down one of the many trails through Mammoth Cave Park. "We're gonna have to make the time to go to Mammoth Cave in our own world when we get home," Kimberly said. "This is beautiful."
"It sure is," Billy agreed. "I-," and then he paused.
"Billy?" Kimberly asked, turning to look at her best friend.
"Trini," Billy sighed. "Trini!"
"Billy?" She then saw what had captured his attention. "Skull!" Trini and Skull were standing in the middle of a side trail, not more than twenty feet from them. Kimberly and Billy simultaneously bolted for them. As soon as she was close enough, Skull picked Kimberly up in his arms and spun her around, her feet flying off of the ground. Billy only grabbed Trini and pulled her tight to his chest, neither saying a word.
"I didn't know if I'd ever see you again," Skull whispered to Kimberly.
"Tomorrow morning," Rocky said as he helped move the extra backpacks into the house.
"You and Trini can take Kimberly and Katherine's bed," I said to Sydney.
"I can sleep on the floor," Sydney protested.
"No," Jason told her flatly. "You've been sliding for a long time. You deserve to sleep in a bed."
"Justin can sleep with Rocky," Jason said.
"Pardon?" Rocky asked. "I thought I'd just crash on the floor with the rest of you."
"I don't think it's such a good idea with your back the way it is," Jason said warily.
"I'm fine now," Rocky insisted. "Tommy and Justin can take my bed, and Skull can take the couch. Then the rest of us can sleep on the floor."
"Are you sure, Rocky?" I asked.
"Positive," he replied. "My back is fine now, honest."
"Where is everybody?" Justin asked.
"All of the couples are elsewhere," Jason told him. "I doubt we'll be seeing much of them for a while."
"Why don't we do something today?" Rocky suggested.
Beep beep beepbeep beep beep.
"Or not," I finished. "Part of us is here, Sigma."
"All non-romantically linked Rangers, please report to the Power Core," Omicron said. "Sydney, just brace yourself."
"Am I about to be teleported?" Sydney asked before she disappeared in white light.
A few moments later, we materialized in the Power Core. Justin, Rocky, Jason, and Sydney were in the large white cubbyhole, while I arrived in my blue one. Tara was already present, and pink light flashed up near us as Beth arrived in her pink Teleportation Booth.
"Is something wrong?" Beth asked, running down the stairs.
"This place is amazing!" Sydney cried, looking all about herself.
"Screen on," Omicron said. Green light flashed as Dana teleported in. "Sheila is constructing a robotic beast in a desert in southern Nevada."
"What does it look like?" I asked. Just then, the screen showed a bipedal ant-like exoskeleton being assembled by dozens of Gargoyles. Draanov was standing nearby, directing the work.
Purple light produced Allison. "A Purple Ranger?" Justin mused as he caught sight of the purple teleportation booth for the first time.
"An Army of Gargoyles is rampaging through the Park," Omicron told us. "They're no doubt intending to keep us busy so we wouldn't attempt to sabotage their newest monster."
"They still haven't figured out we never attack first," Beth muttered.
"What'd I miss?" Crystal asked as she ran down the stairs to join us.
"We're fighting Gargoyles in the park," Tara said simply.
"You got it," Omicron told them. "Sydney, care to stay and help me here?"
"Sure," Sydney answered.
"Let's do it then!" Beth shouted. "It's Morphin Time!"
"Tyrannosaurus — Cougar!!!" Jason shouted.
"Zeo Ranger III, Blue — Ape!!!" Rocky called.
"Mountain Blaster Turbo Power — Seahorse!!!" Justin invoked.
"Lion!" I yelled.
"Kangaroo!" Beth cried.
"Squirrel!" Crystal shouted.
"Frog!" Allison called.
"Sparrow!" Dana added.
"Fox!" Tara finished. In nine simultaneous flashes of light, we morphed and teleported away.
"Sie-kyuh!" Justin grunted as he flipped a gold Gargoyle with his Twin Batons.
"Got your back!" Dana cried as she speared a Gargoyle that tried to attack him from behind.
Jason cleanly dismantled a Gargoyle with his Sword just as a pair of them rushed him. They grabbed him by his shoulders and simultaneously delivered a hard kick to his stomach.
Allison flipped high above the group, landing on the ground with her Mastodon Machete unsheathed. She used her momentum to spin around, completely destroying a nearby Gargoyle.
With a loud grunt, Crystal shoved her Tyrannosaurus Talons, underhanded, into a Gargoyle's midsection. She yanked up, flipping it away and sending its mechanical innards flying.
"Back off!" Tara yelled as she slammed her Bow into a Gargoyle. She flipped aside and fired a series of energy arrows at another, knocking it off its feet.
Beth high-kicked a Gargoyle, cleanly cleaving its head from its shoulder. She then spun around and slammed her Pterodactyl Ball and Chain into another behind her. The impact dented its chest just before it exploded.
I blocked a hit with my Triceratops Whip, only to receive a hard kick in the kidneys. I collapsed to the ground, but I quickly rolled over and grabbed a Gargoyle by the ankle, yanking it off its feet.
Rocky side-kicked a Gargoyle, when it promptly grabbed his foot. He stood there for a moment on one leg, staring the mechanical fighter in the eyes. Then, in a move too fast to follow, he spin-kicked the Gargoyle with his free foot, freeing himself.
Justin was quickly finding himself being beaten down by the Gargoyles. He was used to methodic fighters. All of the fighters he had fought always attacked with the same pattern. The Gargoyles, however, were completely random, and he was quickly getting pummeled. However, a flash of red streaked past him, and he looked up to see a Gargoyle impaled by a familiar Sword. "Tommy!" Justin cried, looking up into the helmet of the Red Zeo Ranger.
"Need a hand?" he asked as he pulled the younger Ranger to his feet.
"Nadia just came and got us," Katherine said by Tommy's side.
Tara cried out in alarm as two Gargoyle's ran into her with a fallen log as a battering ram. With an oomph, she fell to the floor, losing the Saber-Toothed Tiger Bow and Arrow in the process. A "hi-yaah" sounded above her, and she looked up to see a Yellow Ranger attacking the Gargoyles. Tara could only look on in awe as Trini made quick work of the warriors. A second later, she flipped to her side. "Cool armor," Trini said, extending a hand to help her up.
"Thanks," Tara agreed. "You too." The twin Yellow Rangers hit their forearms together and then simultaneously leapt into the fight.
Suddenly, red light burst from the ground and unfurled into the form of Raphael. "What do you want?!" Beth shouted, facing off against him.
He said nothing as he pointed his sword out before him. Half of the Gargoyles immediately leapt onto Hover Boards and lifted up into the sky. "What the heck?" Tommy asked, tilting his head back to watch them.
"I'll stay on the ground with the new guys," Beth volunteered. "The rest of you, hit the sky!"
"Right!" I agreed.
"Power Boards!" Crystal, Allison, Dana, Tara, Katherine, Rocky, Jason, Billy, and I shouted in perfect unison. As soon as our Power Boards appeared, we leapt on them and disappeared into the sky.
"That was amazing!" Tommy cried. He, Justin, Trini, and Beth quickly regrouped. Green and pink light flashed beside them as Skull and Kimberly teleported in.
"Let's take these beasts!" Beth shouted.
"Draanov!" Sheila screeched, stomping across the burning sand in her bare feet. "Isn't this stupid thing finished yet?!"
"We're working as fast as we can, yer majesty," Draanov said in mock humility. Sheila smacked him with the broad side of her dagger and then folded her arms across her chest.
"One more comment like that and I'll make you speak in nothing but questions, riddles, and rhyme," she threatened. After Nadia began to lean to the side of good, her own curse of having to say everything in an obscure manner vanished as well.
"Terribly sorry, my Queen," Draanov answered. "We expect to be finished within the hour."
"Within the hour?!" Sheila bellowed. "Within the hour?! I want it in the under side of fifteen minutes, got it?!!"
"Certainly," Draanov assured her for fear of receiving her wrath. Sheila turned and walked away. A few feet before her, the ground opened up and revealed a staircase that led to her headquarters in a yet-to-be-discovered location. The chasm closed back up, and it was as though nothing had been there. "All right, Gargoyles!" Draanov yelled. "We have to finish this beast in ten minutes! Got it?!"
He looked at the gargantuan, six hundred foot ant machine that was only half finished. He would have never thought it, but Sheila was turning out to be a much stricter Queen than Nadia had ever been.
"What's the Pink Sword made of?" Sydney asked, reaching out to touch it. A thin tendril of pink light leapt off of it and pushed her hand away.
"Pink Garnet," Omicron answered. "Diamond and Sapphire, before you ask."
"I was about to," Sydney muttered to herself. The Sapphire and Diamond Swords were thick and solid, but the Garnet Sword was much more slender and thin.
"Hey Sydney, come check this out," Omicron suggested. Sydney ran down the stairs and over to the other woman. "Look." Just then, the image of the finished Ant coming to life appeared on the Viewing Screen.
"It's beautiful," Sydney said truthfully. "What is it?"
"It's about to be destroyed," Omicron answered. "The bad guys made it. Their MO is to try and destroy our Assault Vehicles. If they do that, then the Rangers are soon to follow. Once the Power Rangers are out of the way, the Earth itself is close behind."
"But they haven't beat the lizard things yet," Sydney said, pointing to the six other Viewing Screens which showed the fight both on the ground and the air.
"Those'll be next," Omicron told her. Just then, all of the Gargoyles disappeared.
"Cool," Sydney said with a smile. "What happens now?"
We quickly landed on the ground and did away with our Power Boards. A large shadow fell over us, and we glanced up to see a giant, black and silver insect lowering itself on gigantic, transparent wings. "We're finished, guys," Jason said.
"You got it?" Rocky asked us.
"Taken care of," Beth assured him. In bright streaks of light, the others teleported away, leaving the six of us alone.
"Lion Assault Vehicle!" I yelled.
"Kangaroo Assault Vehicle!" Beth cried.
"Squirrel Assault Vehicle!" Crystal demanded.
"Frog Assault Vehicle!" Allison shouted.
"Sparrow Assault Vehicle!" Dana called.
"Fox Assault Vehicle!" Tara intoned.
The coins in our Power Morphers and chests began to glow our respective color. "Power up!" we all shouted, yanking our Morphers from our belt. A line of light shot from each Power Coin and met, merging into a baseball-sized ball of white light. It shot high up into the sky and exploded, producing our six Assault Vehicles.
"Let's go!" Tara shouted. With a cry, we leapt into the air and line-of-sight teleported into our cockpits.
Katherine rested against Tommy. Both were perched at the very top of my tree, so high that the branch they were on bent with their weight. "See," Katherine said, pointing off into the distance. They could catch occasional glimpses of the Assault Vehicles, particularly Sparrow, fighting Ant. "You can see everything up here."
"I never realized how much I missed you until I got you back," Tommy sighed, nuzzling his face against the side of her neck. "Your hair, your voice…"
"I missed you, too," Katherine agreed. "I think…"
"You think what?" Tommy asked. "I think I might be thinking the same thing."
"Oh?"
"I know," Tommy said. "I know I love you."
"I love you, too," Katherine murmured, twisting around to kiss him.
"That's so sweet," Trini sighed, looking at the two teenagers higher above them in the tree.
"I love you, too, you know," Billy said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer.
"Yeah, but you've already told me," Trini said. "The first time you hear it is always the most special."
"Firsts are always special," Billy told her.
"Which reminds me," Trini said, spinning out of his arms so she could look him in the eyes.
"Yes?" Billy asked.
"Two months ago, I had a speech planned when I thought I would be seeing you in just a few hours. Suffice it to say, I've since forgotten what all I wanted to say. But, I'm gonna wing it, so bear with me. Okay?"
"Of course," Billy answered, somewhat nervously.
"I know we're only eighteen right now," Trini began, "but I've loved you in some way or another since I first became your friend in ninth grade. And before I left home, I came to a decision. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you, and I'd like you to be my husband. I'd like you to father my children, and I'd like to grow to be an old woman by your side. Billy, someday in the not-too soon future, would you marry me?"
"What?" Billy asked in awe.
"Marry me," Trini repeated. "I don't mean anytime soon, like when we get home. I was thinking in five or six years when at least one of us has a good job and you're at least half-way through grad school."
"I- yes!" Billy answered. "Yes yes yes!"
Trini gave a happy cry and wrapped her arms around Billy tightly, giving him a deep, passionate kiss. "So, I guess our relationship has just taken a new step, huh?" Billy asked.
"It certainly has," Trini agreed. "We're gonna have to reevaluate some things. I still think we should wait."
"I wouldn't dream of asking you to break the promise you made," Billy assured her, referring to the Virginity Movement that Trini kick-started in Geneva. "I'd even be honored to sign it, myself."
"I love you, Billy," Trini sighed. Just then, her attention was drawn to a large blue object streaking across the sky. "What was that?"
Billy looked at it and answered, "Lion A.V. It's so light-footed and not what Jeremy's use to that every single time he takes it into a fight, he ends up getting thrown across the sky."
"Stupid!" Tara taunted as the Fox A.V. nudged me back to my feet. "Cats are light-footed."
"I'm still getting use to his new A.V.," I told her. Even though the Power told me what to do, I was so used to being weighed down with Triceratops that I often got carried away in Lion. Ant had just grabbed a hold of my front legs and literally threw me aside.
"Now follow my lead," Tara said as a laser gun lifted out of Fox's back. "I've got a plan."
"You're gonna make us fall!" Kimberly shrieked. Just then, Skull overbalanced and the two toppled into the six-inch deep, cold creek water.
"This water is kind of chilly," Skull mumbled, mostly to himself.
Kimberly smiled as she stretched up to Skull to kiss him. He wrapped his arm around her, and in the process, slipped further under the shallow water. Skull looked up at Kimberly. Both were soaked to the skin. He absently reached up and brushed her hair out of the way. Kimberly sucked in a hard breath, and then she realized she was straddling his hips. "Sorry," both mumbled simultaneously. Kimberly rolled off of his body and onto her back in the water beside him.
"You know, we're gonna have to talk about where our relationship is, now," Skull said.
"Yeah," Kimberly agreed.
"We're gonna be tempted to have it be exactly the way it was when we were together in early June," Skull said.
"But it's not gonna be quite like that, even though we think it should be," Kimberly said.
"Right," Skull agreed. "But it's not like we have to start from scratch or anything. We're just gonna have to back off a step…"
"So we don't do something spur of the moment just because we're going through withdrawal," Kimberly said with a smile.
"That's my thoughts," Skull said. "But… we could still kiss." To emphasize his point, he stretched over to her and kissed her.
"Skull?"
"Yes?"
"Can we get out of the creek? I'm starting to get cold."
Kangaroo A.V. ran up to Ant. Balancing on her tail, Beth made the front legs lash out with astonishing force, knocking Ant off his feet.
"My turn!" Allison said as Frog leapt beside Ant. A long, purple tongue shot out of Frog's mouth and wrapped around one of Ant's legs. Purple electricity then began to flow down the tongue, shocking Ant. He bent a pincher down to Frog's tongue, and despite the painful, purple energy flowing into his body, he stood up and pulled Frog's tongue off of his leg.
"Allison! Get out of there!" Dana shouted.
"Uh oh," Allison said. She tried to withdraw the tongue, but Ant had a firm grip on it. He began to spin in a circle, holding Frog A.V. by the tongue. "Stop it, you stupid insect!" she screamed, firing purple lasers at him frantically. Frog was off of the ground and being spun around in a circle. Then, Ant let go of the tongue, and Frog, with Allison screaming angrily in the cockpit, flew up and into the atmosphere in a streak of purple.
"Back off, bug!" Crystal shouted as Squirrel scampered up before Ant. Just as the insect turned to look at the Red Assault Vehicle, Crystal leapt off of the ground and latched on to Ant's body. Squirrel's eyes opened wide, and a steady stream of red lasers shot out of them.
"Crystal, I've got a clear shot!" Dana said.
"All right, I'm pulling out," Crystal acknowledged as she jumped off of the deformed Ant and ran away. Sparrow suddenly zoomed toward us. Dana tilted her to the right, exposing the shiny underbelly. A compartment opened, and a green missile fell forth. Sparrow immediately banked away, and the shiny green missile began its fall to the earth. A few seconds later, however, green fins shot out on both sides of it and an exhaust plume burst from the back. The missile evened out and shot, straight as an arrow, at Ant.
"You know, that fight is REALLY loud," Tommy remarked.
"It's weird to watch a fight rather than be in it, isn't it?" Katherine asked.
"You say that nobody knows there are Power Rangers here, right?" Tommy remarked.
"Right, we're fiction here."
"Yet, no one seems to notice all that noise?"
"Sigma's Sword takes care of stuff like that," Katherine explained. "Gives people alternate memories, takes care of any damage…"
"There goes the Blue and Yellow Zords," Tommy pointed.
"Tara, are you sure about this?!" I shouted as Fox leapt in front of me and tore off down the highway. I pressed my A.V. faster to keep up.
"Totally sure," she answered in a fake Valley Girl accent. "Just keep your lasers up and watch my back."
"Since when have you turned into such a dare devil?" I asked as we left the highway and ran across several fields full of startled cows and horses.
"Here we are!" Tara shouted as we leapt over I-65. I followed close behind, amid honking horns. Fox ran across the empty field, prepping her weapons as she did so. "Ready?!"
"Let's do it!" I shouted, flipping a row of switches to my left. "Missiles armed!"
"Firing now!" Tara shouted. Missile carriers burst out of both sides of Fox, attached by thin pieces of metal. Three fired from each, and the carriers retracted into the Assault Vehicle's body. "Fire around me!"
"Stay with me!" I shouted as I retracted my carriers. Two vertical carriers rose from Lion's back, each carrying three shiny blue missiles. "Is twenty-eight degrees okay with you?!"
"Uhm… I'm clear!" Tara agreed. Lasers began to shoot from Fox's eyes, striking Ant before her missiles even hit her.
"Right," I agreed, making each carrier lean twenty-eight degrees off center. "Firing now!" I yelled, slamming my open fist onto a large, blue button on the right panel. Lion shook for a moment, even as she was running, as the missiles detached and fired. They swerved around Fox and then evened out as they zoomed for Ant. Tara's missiles struck Fox perfectly on center, knocking him off of his feet.
"Dead on!" Tara cried happily.
However, Ant dodged my missiles, which continued to fly straight. "Hey!" I protested. Ant ran up to Fox and kicked her, knocking the yellow A.V. off of the ground. "Tara!" I cried.
"I just lost everything!" she screamed back. I looked up through the large windshield as the yellow Fox came tumbling through mid-air for me.
"Brace yourself!" I yelled, although I'm not entirely sure to whom I was yelling. Fox landed on top of Lion, and both A.V.'s crashed to the ground in a tumbled juxtaposition of blue and yellow metal.
"Are you okay?" Tara asked. "My cockpit is on end."
"I'm fine," I said. "I'm upright. Uh, weapons systems, 100%. Hull, 58% and repairing now. Mobility, 86%. I'll be up in a few minutes. You?"
"Weapons, 88%. Hull, 68% and repairing itself," Tara answered. "Mobility is down to 0."
"Get out of the way!" Crystal shouted at us. "Ant's coming right for you!"
"Crap!" Tara spat.
"Fox is down!" I answered. "We need at least three minutes!"
"Icarus A.V.!" Allison shouted as Frog leapt toward Squirrel.
"Power up!" Crystal agreed. Frog and Squirrel merged in a bright purple and red flash, producing Icarus A.V.
"We'll keep him off of you," Allison volunteered as the purple and red Dual Assault Vehicle stood between us and Ant. A giant machete appeared in Icarus' hands as he stepped off against Ant. Ant summoned his own giant blade, and immediately, the two began to spar.
"What kind of ring will you want?"
"Any kind of ring you get me would be wonderful," Trini sighed happily.
"I like silver. Would you like to have silver wedding bands?"
"I like silver better than gold, too," Trini said. "When exactly should we get married?"
"Well, you want to become a kindergarten teacher, right?"
"Right."
"That'll take you about five years, wouldn't you say?"
"From now, yeah."
"So, why don't we get married when you have a steady job," Billy suggested.
"In five years?"
"Too soon?"
"No, five years sounds good," Trini smiled. "It's just- wow. It sounds soon, but, I don't really guess it is. In five years, I'll be married to the most handsome man in all of the dimensions."
"I really hope you're talking about me."
"He's leaving!" Dana shouted. Ant had just unfurled wings and shot up into the atmosphere.
"Then we are, too," Beth said.
"Dragon Assault Vehicle!" we all shouted. "Power up!" Silver light overwhelmed us, and as soon as it subsided, we were sitting in the cockpit within the Dragon A.V.'s belly.
"Stay quad, fly mode," Dana said.
"We're gone," Tara remarked as Dragon unfurled her wings. The hologram in the center lifted off of the ground as we left the Earth behind us.
"This is always my favorite part of the fight," Beth mused as we flew higher and higher into the sky. The blue of the sky slowly darkened, until it was pitch black. Millions of stars appeared without the atmosphere to hinder their light.
"He's headed for the old Lunar Palace," I said.
"It's still there?" Allison asked.
"Apparently," Beth answered, "'cause I'm picking it up on my scans."
"Do an interior scan," Crystal suggested.
"On it," I affirmed.
"Oh my God," Beth sighed. "It's like a junkyard for Sheila's beasts. Tons and tons of mechanical parts, just waiting to be assembled."
"It must have a shield around it," Dana mused. "Even Sheila isn't that stupid."
"It does have a shield," Beth told her.
"What is this thing up to?" Allison asked.
"It's malfunctioning," Dana theorized. "It doesn't know what it's doing."
"I have an idea," Tara said. "We lure it into the shield. That'd be the easiest way to annihilate him."
"We keep a steady course," Crystal said. "Right now, we're on Ant's tail. He's headed for the palace, and we just have to keep him from veering away."
"We'll shoot above him if he tries to veer away," Beth suggested.
Nothing more was said as we flew just a few feet above the surface of the moon. Suddenly, the Lunar Palace was before us. "Let's do it," Tara said.
"He's… pulling up!" Beth shouted.
"Firing lasers!" I shouted. A stream of silver lasers shot out of Dragon's eyes, just as Ant attempted to veer away from the Palace. He was struck by several and immediately lowered. Upon doing so, he slammed into the protective magic bubble surrounding the Palace. He exploded in silent fireball of red fire and black magic.
"Pull out!" Allison cried.
"Now we're gonna hit it," Tara muttered.
The entire cockpit began to rattle as Allison and Crystal pulled Dragon off of her course. The hologram in the center of the cockpit showed Dragon flying toward the Palace and lifting up into the air. The underbelly of the Assault Vehicle narrowly missed the bubble, and then, we were clear.
"We did it!" Beth shouted happily.
"All right, men," Dana said jokingly, "let's get this baby home."
"This is fun," Sydney remarked. "Does your Command Center look like this?" she asked of Justin.
"No, not even close," Justin answered. "Our's is…"
"Screen on," Omicron said. One of the viewing screens instantly displayed a still image of the Command Center.
"It looks a lot like that," Justin said.
"Do you think your little robot friend who let me help in it?" Sydney asked. "I really had fun working in here during the fight. There's so much to do!"
"I don't know," Justin said with a shrug. "We can ask."
The Power Core was suddenly awash with a multitude of colored lights as the six of us teleported into our Booths. "Is it clear?" Dana asked, removing her helmet and shaking her hair free.
"Ant is destroyed," Omicron announced. "You're free to go."
"Can I see your helmet?" Justin asked Allison.
"Sure," she said, removing her Purple Mastodon and handing it to him.
"It's just like Zack's, only purple," Justin mused as he stared at it. "I like purple."
"I like it myself, but I'm starting to think I may be the only Purple Ranger in all of existence."
"No, I met a Purple Ranger a long time back," Justin said. "Not you, though. And she was a Zeo Ranger."
"I'm out of here," Tara announced as she removed her Power Morpher. Her suit lifted up and away from her body in bright, yellow sparks of light. She then teleported away in a streak of canary yellow.
"Lion down," I said calmly as I walked over to Justin and Rocky. "We've still got the afternoon ahead of us. You guys wanna do something?"
"I wouldn't mind catching a movie," Sydney said. "It's been forever since we've actually got to go to a theater. Gotham's theaters weren't very… social friendly. It's pretty dark town."
"Can I come, too?" Crystal asked, walking over to us as she demorphed in a flash of red light. "I've been bored out of my mind lately."
"Absolutely," I said. "The more the merrier. We can take my dad's blazer. Anybody else in?"
"Not me," Beth said. "Kangaroo down. I'm needed elsewhere. Thanks anyway though."
"Bye Beth," Crystal waved as our Pink Ranger teleported away.
"Scream is still playing at the Dollar Theater," I volunteered.
"No thank you," Sydney commented.
"The Lost World?" Allison suggested.
"Stank," Jason rebutted. "How about Batman and Robin?"
"Bingo," Justin said.
"Something weird happened between those two," Jason muttered to me as we walked a few paces behind Sydney and Justin through the mall.
"Sometimes they're close, and then they just back off all panicked," I agreed.
"A fight, maybe?" Crystal suggested.
"A kiss," Rocky said.
"What?" Allison asked, lifting her eyebrows.
"About two weeks ago," Rocky informed us. "Trini told me earlier."
"Is she a pedophile?" I asked.
"Apparently, it freaked her out pretty good," Rocky continued. "And Justin was the one who kissed her. It just took her a few seconds to snap to her senses. I get the feeling Trini wasn't telling me the whole story, though."
"Do you get the distinct impression they're talking about us?" Sydney asked.
Justin turned around to see us standing a few feet away, engrossed in a quiet conversation. "What makes you think that?"
"The kiss, Justin, they're talking about the kiss," Sydney said firmly.
"Oh," Justin groaned, turning red.
"You know, we are going to have to talk about this if we want to be friends, Justin," Sydney said.
"What more is there to talk about?" Justin mumbled.
"We never talked about it in the first place," Sydney informed him. "Look, this isn't the time or place. Let's talk about it tonight, before we get to your dimension. We're on neutral ground now. Deal?"
"Deal," Justin relented.
"Where are the others?" Trini asked as she stabbed the fire with a long stick.
"They haven't come back yet," Tommy answered.
"It's peaceful out here in the boonies," Skull said with a smile.
"I'm looking forward to getting back to Angel Grove," Kimberly sighed. "Sleeping by myself. Seeing my parents again. Well, seeing them twice a year."
"You should go spend some time with your mom in France," Skull said.
"No, I will not," Kimberly muttered. "I'll go visit for a week or two, but that's it. If my mother didn't care enough about me to totally disrupt my entire life, then I'm not disrupting my life for her. Don't get me wrong; I love my mother, but… we haven't been as close since she moved to France. But my dad lives in New York, so that's not too far."
"You're always welcome at our house, Kimberly," Billy said with a smile.
"I've really liked staying with you all, Billy. I really have," Kimberly told him. "It was like being part of a real family again. Your parents are so much fun. I can't wait until me, you, and Justin can all live in the same house together."
"Are you going to leave your hair short?" Katherine asked, running her hand through his short hair.
"Not a chance," Tommy answered with a grin. "I feel naked."
"Don't let it grow past your shoulders. Please?" Katherine asked.
"I might relent to that," Tommy said.
"How did you all end up with Sydney?" Billy asked. "I never have quite found out."
"She seems friendly," Kimberly added.
"Believe it or not, she first came into the picture when she kidnapped a version of Justin on one of the worlds," Trini said.
"She's a kidnapper?" Katherine asked. "You let her come with you?"
"Long story made short, she's very sorry and has made amends with everyone directly involved," Tommy told her.
"She was actually near-death at one point," Skull continued, "but some witches brought her back to life."
"You met witches?" Kimberly asked.
"A teenage witch named Sabrina," Trini clarified.
"She looks like the actress who used to play on 'Clarissa Explains it All,'" Skull said.
"There's a t.v. show here," Billy said, "called 'Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.' I still haven't gotten used to watching myself on television. That's too weird."
"The guy who plays Billy is going bald," Kimberly teased.
"At least David Yost didn't accuse me of stalking him," Billy shot back.
"What's this about?" Skull asked, his interest growing.
"Back in July, I decided I wanted to meet Amy Jo Johnson. She plays me. So me, Jeremy, and Beth teleported ourselves to California to meet her. We saw her at a restaurant with, of all people, David Yost, that's Billy's actor, but I chickened out. I didn't go up to her, but it turns out I didn't have to. She asked me why I was staring at her, and then she realized how much I looked like her. I did talk to her for a few minutes though. She was nice."
"I can't believe we're going home tomorrow," Katherine sighed, changing the subject. "I mean, tomorrow."
"I'm gonna kinda miss it here," Kimberly said. "But, I'm eager to get home, too."
"We've all had an adventure that very few people get to have," Tommy announced. "This summer hasn't been all bad."
"This summer has been wonderful," Billy agreed.
Headlights lit up the yard as we pulled into the driveway. A fire was glowing in the front yard, and the three couples were situated around it. "Isn't that cute?" Rocky cooed good-naturedly.
"Remember what I said," Sydney said to Justin as they climbed out of the blazer.
"Let's get it over with," Justin told her with a set face.
"All right," Sydney agreed.
"What's that all about?" Jason asked. I only shrugged in reply.
"Do you realize that this was the last time we'll ever go have fun together?" Rocky asked.
"Don't start that," Allison warned her. "You're going to have me crying."
"I can't begrudge you guys, though," Crystal said, wrapping her arm around Rocky's shoulder as they walked across the front yard. "I wouldn't want to spend my entire summer in another dimension either, even if I did get the honor of staying with six of the coolest people there is."
Rocky laughed and shrugged her off. "No, the honor was all your's," he insisted.
"Of being the six coolest people there is, absolutely," Crystal returned.
"Do you guys need a flashlight?!" I shouted down to Sydney and Justin.
"Don't climb higher than forty feet!" Kimberly yelled. "You'll never get down after dark if you don't!"
"Okay!" Justin shouted back.
"Are they okay alone?" Jason asked.
"They'll be fine," Trini told him.
"It's dark out here," Sydney said as she situated herself on a tree limb. The faint light present caught on her bronze streak of hair, shining like foil.
"It sure is," Justin agreed, finally settling on a branch a few feet above her. "So…"
"I guess I've gotta be the old one," Sydney muttered to herself. "Justin…"
"We have to talk, I know."
"About the kiss."
"Which I initiated."
"Right."
"So…"
"Why did you kiss me?" Sydney asked. "Maybe we should find that out first?"
"Pardon?"
"Why did you kiss me?" she repeated. "Any particular reason? Right place and right time, but wrong age? What?"
"I guess… because you didn't talk down to me. Even Tommy treats me like a kid. But you never did. You treated me just like I treated you. And, well, it's no big surprise I think you're pretty, but… I thought, maybe, on some off-chance, you might think of me like I think of you."
"Justin, what's your IQ?"
"Pardon?"
"Do you know your IQ?"
"Yeah, it's 163."
"Then you should understand that just because I treat you like an adult in conversation doesn't mean I can treat you like an adult in every other aspect of my life," Sydney said cautiously.
"I know that now," Justin said. "I knew it then; I just wasn't thinking clearly. And I'm sorry."
"I know," Sydney said softly. "You can come closer. I don't bite."
"Are we friends, again?"
"Of course we are," Sydney assured him as he came a bit closer to her.
"So, then, it'd be okay to ask you a hypothetical?"
"Sure, knock yourself out."
"If you were thirteen or fourteen years old, would you go out with me? I'm just asking because, you know…"
"You're at the age where you've noticed these things called boobs, right?"
"Something like that," Justin muttered, thankful for the security of the darkness.
"Assuming I was younger?" Sydney asked. She paused, and then said, "Sure. The day I turn thirteen or fourteen again is the day I go out with you in a heartbeat."
Justin smiled bashfully, but he still managed to squeak out a grateful, "Thanks."
The next morning dawned bright and early. However, in my house, no one could sleep. For six of us, this was due in part to the extreme discomfort produced by sleeping on the floor. It was almost entirely caused, though, by the timer which was slowly reaching point zero.
At six o'clock, the other five Rangers, plus Omicron and Nadia, teleported to my house to see the sliders off. At 6:12 a.m., after many tearful goodbyes, hugs, and friendly kisses, the timer reached zero with a loud beep that may as well have been the voice of God.
"Do we have everything?" Billy asked, going over the many back packs, garbage bags, and cardboard boxes around them.
"To have not shown up with much, we sure are going home with a lot," Katherine laughed.
"Let's go," Tommy said. After looking around the group for support, he pointed it before him and pressed the button.
"One last hug!" Crystal cried, wrapping her arms around Rocky. She then moved on to Jason, followed immediately by Katherine.
"Crystal, they have an agenda," Tara chided.
Nadia's attention was suddenly diverted, and she looked off into the distance. "Is something wrong?" Allison asked.
"You have to hurry!" Nadia cried. Crystal, who was on tiptoe and hugging Tommy, paused and turned to look at her.
"What?" Crystal asked. Suddenly, with a loud bellow from Tommy and a shriek from Crystal, they lifted off of the ground and flew into the portal. The resulting bright red flash briefly illuminated a hint of an invisible gargoyle, which was promptly pulled in behind them.
For a moment, no one moved. No one said anything. The portal was closed, and Crystal and Tommy had just passed through it. Silence seemingly reigned the entire world, until Katherine broke it. "Tommy!!!"
Crystal found herself flying down a tunnel. She was only vaguely aware of shape and substance. The tunnel seemed to be composed entirely of light and colors. Her vision flipped and shifted several times, and then, red light overwhelmed her. She suddenly became solid again, and she was airborne. However, the sensation didn't last more than a millisecond, and she promptly crashed to the floor. A heavy body landed on top of her, which she quickly pushed away. "What happened?" she groaned.
"Tommy?" a deep, booming voice asked.
"Aye-yi-yi!" Alpha cried. "What has happened here?!"
Crystal got into a kneeling position, only to find herself in the Command Center. There were a few minute variations, but for the most part, it was identical to the Command Center she had known and loved before the change. However, there were differences. The most glaring was the floating head at the back of the room.
"Crystal," Tommy sighed as he climbed to his feet. "You came with me."
"Aye-yi-yi!" Alpha shrieked. A deactivated Gargoyle suddenly shimmered into being on the ground beside Crystal. The mechanical beast's CPU had been damaged upon landing.
"I'm in the wrong dimension," Crystal moaned. "Oh my dear God…"
"Tommy, who is your companion?" Zordon asked.
"Zordon, this is Crystal. She's one of Sigma's Power Rangers. This Gargoyle knocked us both into the portal," Tommy said dejectedly.
"How am I going to get home?" Crystal asked as calmly as she could.
"The back button," Nadia said as she materialized next to them. "Trini and Justin think the back button will take you there now since that very slider has accessed and separated the coordinates of your dimension from the overall cache file. Check the time."
Tommy found the slider lying against a control panel. He snatched it back up and flipped it open. "Eight-three hours," he said. "Just shy of four days."
"I can stay here four days," Crystal said woodenly. "Then, I can take it back to my home, and the others can slide here with it. Oh gosh, I'm going to wake up any minute now, I just know it." Crystal paused, and then added, "Nadia, I know you can't stay here long, but please, tell my family and friends I love them?"
"Certainly," Nadia promised as she faded away.
"I'm really scared, Tommy," Crystal told him. Sarah and Daniel Oliver had been so overjoyed at having their eldest son back home, they eagerly agreed that Crystal could stay with them as long as needed. Chelsea was slightly taller than Crystal, but otherwise, they were the same size, and she offered to share her clothing with the older Ranger. The Olivers were very hospitable to her, and that actually did help her anxiety, but it didn't completely alleviate it.
"I honestly know how you feel," Tommy said. "I really do. But don't worry. In four days, you'll be home."
"What if it doesn't work?" Crystal asked, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "What if I end up lost, forever?"
Tommy didn't have an answer, as that was one of the same questions he asked himself each time the portal to yet another world was opened.
"That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do," Beth told me as we walked down the sidewalk from the Mills' house. Crystal's mother had not taken the news very well. Being a parent, she knew about Crystal's Power Ranger life, but she, along with the other five pairs of parents, had not been pleased with it. Learning her daughter was just pulled into a different dimension did not shed a light of grace on the Ranger business.
"Tell me about it," I agreed. Suddenly, dozens of Gargoyles teleported into the middle of the street.
Beth looked at me, and in perfect synchrocity, we shouted, "It's Morphin Time!"
"Lion!"
"Kangaroo!"
We morphed in blue and pink flashes of life as we simultaneously called on our powers. "Guys, we need help!" Beth shouted into her wrist. Then, we leapt into the battle, fighting with a renewed vigor.
The fight was short but intense. By the time Allison, Dana, and Tara joined us, the Gargoyles were nearly defeated. Omicron then came onto the communications line to tell us that the random pointless monster of the week was waiting outside the town limits. "Jason offered to pilot Squirrel into battle, but…"
"Actually, we'd rather handle this by ourselves," Allison said softly.
"That's what he suspected," Omicron told us. "Omicron out."
Blue, pink, purple, green, and yellow. Without red, we weren't complete. We had been separated in battle before, but never before had we been separated by the very barrier of reality. At that moment, I perfectly understood how the Rangers' friends must have felt. Being left behind truly is harder.
"Come on, let's go," Beth ordered. Without a single objection, we all obeyed. Five streams of brightly colored light streaked into the sky, with a painfully empty space between pink and purple.