Disclaimer: I acknowledge that all characters, locations and events belong soley to Saban Entertainment. Their use in this document is not authorised and exists purely for entertainment (so please don't sue me Mr. Saban!)
Author note: Ranger HQ, Ultima, Kraegor and Crush and the Samurai Rangers are all my own design. I apologise for any likenesses that may occur to anyone else's stories, but I promise they are all purely accidental. If for some bizarre reason, anyone wishes to use any of my characters or ideas, please contact me first. I won't refuse permission(not that I can actually stop anyone anyway) but new ideas for my plots are always appreciated. Thank You and May the Power Protect Us (from Ourselves!)
Time Scale: Directly after 'The Samurai Ranger Saga – Part One' (well dur!) It probably helps to have read that, but you'll pick things up soon enough if you don't.
The Gathering
By Matt
Passing through the vortex was pretty much a similar experience to teleporting, they were all used to it by now. They came out of the vortex. As it closed behind them, they looked round at their new surroundings. It was pretty much the same as the Power Chamber, but it was quite a lot bigger. Justin, TJ, Carlos, Cassie and Ashley – the Turbo Rangers, Blue Senturion – an intergalactic law enforcement officer and Alpha Six – a sentient mechanoid appointed as Dimitria's aid. None of them had been together that long, but together, they bravely jumped through the portal and wound up there. They started to look round as they were they only ones there at the moment. They knew Alpha Five had to be about somewhere as he was the one who had contacted them.
"Alpha, Alpha Five, are you here?" Justin, the Blue Turbo Ranger called out, hoping to get a reply from the small robot.
"Justin, it's good to see you!" Alpha Five called, coming out from his recharging alcove.
"Alpha, what are you doing here? I thought you went back to Eltar with Zordon. Speaking of which, where exactly is here?" Justin asked.
"This is Ranger HQ. It was built only a few months ago." Alpha replied.
"What's going on Alpha? Why are you here? Why are we here? And what are you doing here by yourself?" Justin requested.
"But I'm not alone!" Alpha replied to one of Justin's questions. He pointed up at the energy tube similar to Dimitria's back in the Power Chamber. Zordon's unforgettable face appeared in it.
"Who's that?" Ashley whispered to Cassie.
"ZORDON!" Justin called out, happy to see another familiar face. Justin never had much stability in his life, but he knew the Rangers, and the many friends he had made since becoming one, were one thing he could always count on to be there for him. "I thought you were on Eltar, when did you come back?"
"I shall explain soon enough, young Ranger. You must wait until the others arrive, you must all be told." Zordon, the Great Morphin Master explained to his youngest follower.
"How long until they all arrive then?" Justin asked.
"It shouldn't be long. You were all contacted at about the same time." Alpha replied.
Carlos looked around and saw a vortex appearing in the same place they had appeared. "Hey guys, incoming!" Carlos warned the others.
The portal flashed brightly as it's event horizon of the time portal broke through the space/time continuum. As the light started to die down, they could see six figures coming through. Once the light was cleared, Justin immediately recognised them all.
"TOMMY! Guys!" the impetuous young Ranger called out, running over to his old friends.
"Justin! Zordon?! What are you all doing here? And what's going on?" Tommy asked, as confused as nearly every other person there was.
Justin knew five of them, how could he forget them. Tommy, Kat, Tanya and Adam used to be his fellow Turbo Rangers, and Rocky, who Justin was given his powers by. The sixth member of their group he didn't recognise at first. He wore a blue helmet with a gold crest and down his back was a red and blue cape. He soon realised he was looking at the almighty 'Auric the Conquerer'. He had seen pictures of him on the Power Chambers computers and Tommy had told stories about him.
"We just got here. We got a call for help from Alpha and came straight away. Zordon said he'd tell us what was going on when the others arrived." Justin explained to his friend.
"Zordon, I thought you were still on Eltar!" Tommy exclaimed, just as Justin had earlier. "Well we're here now, Zordon, you can tell us what's happening."
"Please remain patient, Tommy. There are still more to arrive." Zordon explained.
The Rangers started talking to take the time. "So, how are you guys handling the Powers?" Kat asked.
"It's a bit weird at first, but you soon get into the swing of things!" Cassie, Kat's pink counterpart replied.
"Hey TJ, how d'you like Red Lightning?" Tommy asked, fondly remembering one of the greatest vehicles he had ever driven.
"I've gotta get myself one of them. It's incredible." TJ replied, agreeing with Tommy's praise of the Red Turbo vehicle.
"The next few should be arriving at any moment." Alpha interrupted. No sooner had he said it, when two more vortexes opened.
This time, Justin only recognised a few of them. Tommy, however, recognised every one of them and greeted them all with a smile. From the first portal, Jason, Kimberly, Zack and Trini appeared. They were four of the first five Rangers Tommy had had the honour of fighting alongside. As the light from the other vortex dissipated, he saw the Zeo Rangers' long time ally, Prince Trey of Triforia. He was morphed, and carrying his Golden Power Staff. His chest shield and other gold coloured accessories all glowed with residual energy from the wormhole. He was a truly magnificent sight to behold.
Jason spoke for the first group of new arrivals. "Zordon? What's going on?"
"All will be revealed soon enough, we have just a few more to wait for." Zordon said, trying to keep the large assortment of Rangers patient.
"Zordon, I came as soon as I got your call. I am at your service." Trey said to his long time friend. He noticed Blue Senturion standing with the Turbo Rangers. "Blue Senturion, it is good to see you again, old friend."
Blue Senturion moved forward to greet the Gold Ranger. "Prince Trey. I'm glad to see you!" he said to his gold friend.
"You two know each other?" Tommy asked.
"Yes Tommy. We have fought along side each other in many a battle." Gold Ranger replied.
"I patrol planets other than Earth, my friend. Triforia is one of my usual stops." Senturion added.
"Justin. Do you know all these people?" Ashley asked.
"I recognise some of them. Them over there," Justin started, pointing over to Jason's group, "the front two are Jason and Kimberly. I met them when we were on Muranthias. Jason was the first Red Ranger. KImberly was the first Pink Ranger. I don't know the other two, or the Gold Guy!"
Zordon could see they were all unsure of who everyone else was. With the exception of Tommy, none of them really knew more than a couple of people there. "You will all be introduced in time, but our last group is about to arrive momentarily." Zordon called over the racket of the various questions and greetings.
Most of them hardly noticed another vortex opening at the back of the room. Six more people came throughit.
"Hi guys!" Billy called out as he stepped from the vortex.
"Billy. Great to see you!" Tommy replied as everyone turned round to look at the new arrivals. With Billy stood five strange looking beings. The tops of their heads were gold, dotted with purple circles and they all wore the same black uniform. They were the Alien Rangers of Aquitar. They moved forward to join the rest of the Rangers.
"Zordon, it is good to see you again, were it under better circumstances." Delphine, white ranger and leader of the Aquitians exclaimed.
"It is good to see you also!" Zordon replied.
"Are we all here now?" Tommy asked.
"Yes!" Zordon said. "We will begin with introductions. Alien Rangers, please step forward."
The Aquitians all stepped forward. "These are the Power Rangers of Aquitar. Delphine, Cestro, Aurico, Corcus and Tideus." Zordon explained, each of them bowed slightly and greeted the others with the traditional hand gesture of their planet as Zordon said their names. "Some of you know them, but for those of you who do not, they have come to the aid of Earth's Rangers on several occasions." Everyone greets them in their own way.
Gold Ranger steps forward. "This is Prince Trey of Triforia, the Gold Ranger. He is a respected ally of the Zeo Rangers." Zordon continued with his introductions.
He powered down. "Greetings Rangers of earth and Aquitar!" Trey said firmly.
"Jason, could you all step forward." Jason followed his mentor's instruction as he stepped forward with Zack, Kim, Trini and, now, Billy. "This is Jason. Some of you may know him as the Gold Ranger, but along with his companions Zack, Kimberly, Trini and Billy, they were the first I chose to be Power Rangers from your generation."
They all say hi to the others as they greet them.
"I guess we're next!" Tommy said, stepping in with his fellow ex-Zeo's and Auric.
"I believe you all know Tommy. With him are Katherine, Rocky, Adam and Tanya. Together they are the Zeo Rangers. They are accompanied by their ally, Auric the Conquerer."
Again, they are all greeted by the others.
"Finally, these are the Turbo Rangers. The Rangers in power from your time. Justin, TJ, Carlos, Cassie and Ashley. With them is the Blue Senturion, intergalactic law enforcement officer."
After a final greeting, the commotion about Zordon's last comment begins.
"What do you mean, our time?" Tommy asked. "When are we?" Tommy thought about how strange the question asked, but after all the occasions he had travelled through time, it usually proved a fruitful question.
"The year is 2093. I have bought you all approximately a hundred years into your future." Zordon exclaimed.
"What for?" Kim asked. Saying exactly what nearly every person in the room was thinking.
"TJ. Please tell the others the events that were transpiring before we contacted you." Zordon requested.
TJ slowly walked to the front of the crowd, thinking of what to say. "Well, we were fighting Divatox's forces, ad, to be honest, we were losing! Just as we were about to be finished off, they all disappeared. They didn't teleport away, they just vanished. When we checked it out in the Power Chamber, we discovered that Divatox and all traces of her forces had simply gone." He looked around to make sure nobody looked completely lost. They all seemed fine. "We thought it might be part of someone else's plan to return and take Earth, so we checked up on all the dark forces. Rita and Zedd, Master Vile, the Machine Empire, Gasket and Archerina as well as Divatox had all gone. There was no trace of any of them. That was when Alpha contacted us."
"Thank you TJ." Zordon said, allowing the Turbo leader to return to his place. "They disappeared because a powerful being called Ultima brought them all here."
"Okay. So Ultima appears, brings the others here, then you called us, right?" Tommy asked.
"No. Ultima first showed up over a year ago. Alpha Five and I were still on Eltar, which was Ultima's first target." Zordon explained.
"What happened on Eltar, Zordon?" Kat asked.
"It is gone!" Zordon exclaimed. A very audible hint of sadness in his voice as he spoke of his home world.
"What? He wiped out everyone on Eltar?" Justin asked sharply.
"I wish that were the case, as then maybe one day we could return, but it is not. Eltar is simply gone. Ultima destroyed the entire planet!" Zordon replied.
Everone was shocked, as expected.
"Is Ultima really that powerful?" Tommy asked.
"Yes, Tommy. I am afraid so." Zordon replied.
"How did you and Alpha escape then?" Cassie asked. She had never met them before, but she felt concerned foir them already.
"Lerigot opened the wormhole back to Earth and we came back." Zordon replied to the Pink Turbo's question.
"So Ultima followed you here then?" Carlos asked.
"As I had hoped, it took Ultima a while to find us. It gave me the time I needed to create and train the Samurai Rangers." Zordon said, continuing the story.
"Who are they? I'm guessung something happened to them, that's why they're not here." Tommy said.
"Indeed Tommy! When Ultima finally reached Earth, the Samurai's had been training for quite a while. They took on Ultima and held him off for a while. Even though they failed and were eventually were captured, they did the most important part. Seeing the power of the human spirit, Ultima decided not to simply destroy the planet. He still has the Samurai Rangers imprisoned." Zordon explained, then he continued. "Ultima knew that with the Samurai Rangers captured, I would have to call on you all to come to our aid. That was when he brought the others here. He may have been the most powerful being in the Universe, but they all had something that he lacked."
"Experience at fighting Power Rangers!" Tommy butted in.
"Exactly." Zordon added.
"So I guess the first thing for us to do would be to free the Samurai Rangers." Tommy suggested.
"That is the plan. I believe together you may have the power to defeat Ultima." Zordon explained. Everyone continued to listen closely.
"There is a slight problem here!" TJ said, bursting Tommy's bubble.
"What is it?" Tommy asked.
"In case you didn't notice, apart from Trey, the Aquitians and us, none of the rest of you actually have any powers." TJ pointed out to them all.
"Zordon. Couldn't you send us back and bring us all here from times when we were Rangers?" Jason suggested.
"No Rangers. That would disrupt the timeline!" Alpha replied. "Besides, if we brought you here when you first got your powers, Jason, you would have never passed on your powers to the other Rangers and you'd be the only ones."
"Alpha, hasn't bringing us all here already disrupted the timeline?" Billy asked.
"No. All of you being brought here is what lead to this timeline!" Alpha replied.
Before anyone could ask what he meant, Zordon explained.
"The others' experience at fighting you is not the only reason Ultima brought them here. It was part of his plan to take over. By removing all of the evil forces from your time, Ultima made your time completely safe. Eventually, there was no need for Rangers and the powers all died. The Universe was defenseless, but that didn't matter with nobody to defend it from. Once this had happened, Ultima exposed himself and attacked." Zordon explained. He had simplified the intricacies of the time paradox's presented in Ultima's plans and told them all the basic idea.
"Okay, but how can we halp with no powers?" Tommy asked.
"The Zeo Crystal still exists in this time. I sought it out when I arrived here on Earth. It is now in my posession, so I have the ability to restore the Zeo Rangers." Zordon explained to Tommy. As he mentioned it, the Zeo Crystal appeared and floated at one side of the energy tube.
"How about us, Zordon?" Jason asked. "I know the Power Coins don't still exist in this time, they don't even exist in ours. They were destroyed after Master Vile turned back time."
"The Power Coins may not exist, but there is someone else who does." Zordon exclaimed.
The all looked round as they heard a door opening behind them. Out cam a large figure dressed in smooth blue armour. There was no mistaking him. Tommy immediately recognised yet another old friend.
"Ninjor! What are you doing here?" Tommy called over to him.
"Greetings Rangers." Ninjor replied. His voice was almost goofy sonding, but behind it was a very obvious air of honour and regal dignity. "I was in the Temple when Ultima attacked Earth. I sought out Zordon in case he was in need of my help."
"As indeed I did. Along with Ninjor and Lerigot, we created the Samurai Rangers. Also, we managed to recreate the Power Coins." Zordon said, finally explaining how the last lot of Rangers could have their power restored. As with the crystal, when the Coins were mentioned, the six coins appeared and floated in a circle on the other side of the energy tube.
"Who exactly are we up against here?" Billy asked.
"Ultima has taken the lead in this Unholy Alliance, he is asissted by Crush and Kraegor, both of whom are aslo extremely powerful. Rita and Zedd are here, and where they go, Rito and Goldar always follow. Representing the Machine Empire are Mondo, Machina, Sprocket, Klank and Orbus. Prince Gasket and Archerina are working alone for Ultima as Mondo still refuses to accept them into his empire. Then there is Divatox with her aids Elgar, Porto and Rygog." Zordon explained to the gathering assembled before him.
"What about Master Vile? We detected he was gone too." TJ said.
"Yes, Ultima brought him here too, but Vile refused to tak orders from anyone. Master Vile believed he could beat Ultima and challenged him." Zordon explained in answer to the question.
"What happened to him?" Tommy asked, urging Zordon to continue.
"Ultima destroyed him. He did it as easily as you would kill an ant." Zordon finished.
"Man, this Ultima dude sounds like big trouble!" Zack exclaimed to the others.
"Okay, I say we restore pur powers and go for an all out attack on Ultima's base." Tommy suggested.
"Great idea, bro. So Zordon, where's his base? Down here on the surface like Divatox had, or is it like a space fortress like Mondo had?" Jason asked.
"I'm afraid things have changed a bit since your time, Rangers." Zordon said cryptically.
"What has?" Tommy asked.
"You're used to someone attacking Earth from their base. That's all changed. This is our secret base, and it's down to us to attack Ultima to try and take control of the planet." Zordon said.
"What are you saying, Zordon?" Tommy asked frankly.
"Ultima controls the Earth. He took over the planet after he captured the Samurai's and it's up to us to reclaim it!" Zordon explained.
"Guys, this isn't good!" Justin exclaimed.
Inside Ultima's main fortress. Zedd, Mondo, Gasket and Divatox are all shown on their own video screens to communicate with Ultima. He stood before them all, keeping them waiting. Most of them were thinking the same thing, how could this simple looking being possibly be so powerful. He looked like an average twenty year old male human, six foot tall, short, jet-black hair and a strongly tanned face – the only bare skin showing. He wore a black jacket that only just reached to his waist and tight black trousers on the bottom. He had black gloves and boots completing the dark outfit. He looked so weak, yet every person waiting for him to speak knew that he could destroy the with a thought.
"Zordon has gathered his forces, you should all increase security around your holding cells." Ultima ordered his underlings.
"I still don't see why we don't just destroy these Samurai Rangers." Zedd exclaimed.
"Yeah, and why spread them out like this. Wouldn't we stand a better chance of keeping them if we kept them all in one place and used our combined forces to guard them."
"Who says we want to keep them?" Ultima exclaimed suprising all the others.
"Then what's the point in capturing them if we don't even intend to keep them?" Gasket asked sharply, not seeming to care who he was talking to.
"Of course we want to keep them. We just want the Rangers to believe they actually have some chance of rescuing their allies. They're not going to try and attack something they know they can't beat. By making their targets look more vulnerable, we're more likely to draw the Rangers out." Ultima explained. "The threat these Rangers pose may be almost insignificant, but it is a threat to our cause none the less!"
"Surely if they're not so well guarded, then there's more chance that they'll be rescued!" Mondo said.
"Are you stupid you useless machine. We just want the Rangers to think they're not well guarded. That's why you use all available forces to guard them and make sure no Ranger, Samurai or otherwise, escapes from you. Anyone who fails me will meet the same fate as Master Vile. Now get to work!
Ultima pushed a button on the control panel and the four screens went blank. Crush walked into the room. Ultima was instantly pleased to see her. She always looked most appealing. She was similar to Ultima -a wolf in sheeps clothing. Her brown skin and long dark brown wavy hair make her look quite… gentle, the green streaks in it lokking rather exotic. Unlike Ultima, she liked to show off a lot of skin. She wore only a small green top over her chset, her stomach was bare and she wore tight green trousers..She took a seat and started to examine a computer screen while talking to Ultima.
"So, do you think those bumblers can keep those Samurai's safe from all of Zordon's Rangers?" Crush asked.
"I should think so. Most of them may be grossly incompotent, but with their knowledge of the Rangers and the power and technology I have given them, they shouldn't have any problems." Ultima replied, confident in his choice of allies.
"What about their Zords? We sometimes had trouble just dealing with The Samurai Zords. A lot of Rangers means a lot of Zords!" Crush pointed out to a slightly over-confident Ultima.
He realised the truth in what she said. "I fear you may be right. How is my solution to that problem coming along?"
"Fairly well." Crush replied.
"I want you to see what you can do to increase the speed of the drones. I want it completed as soon as possible." Ultima instructed.
Crush continues to tap away at the buttons on the computer's control panel. "I've been working on it already and I think I've come up with something. If I can implement it correctly, we should be able to increase the drones' efficiency by just over 120%." She replied, glad to be giving him good news.
"Very good Crush. Do all you can to complete it, use anything you require, but get it done." Ultima ordered.
Crush stood up from her seat, bowed to Ultima, retaining eye contact with him the whole time, and left the room.
"Ha! Power Rangers! You'll never defeat me, but I look forward to seeing you try." Ultima sniggered to himself.
Back at Ranger HQ, Alpha's five and six are busily working away at the computer. Tommy is talking privately to Zordon. The original Rangers were talking.
"What's Tommy talking about with Zordon?" Zack asked.
"Haven't got a clue. Hey, here he comes?" Trini replied. Tommy came over to them. As Tommy arrived, Billy excused himself and went over to help Alpha and Alpha.
"It's really great to see you all again!" Trini smiled at the others.
"Yeah. We haven't all been together like this since we left the Rangers." Zack added.
"It's strange having the old team back together again." Tommy said.
"Hey guys, I'm glad we're not in on that conversation!" Kim said, pointing over to where Billy was talking to the two automated Alpha units.
"Why's that?" Jason asked.
"Well remember what Billy used to be like when he got talking tech, imagine what it must be like with two Alpha's to talk about it with." Kim explained. They all laughed as they thought about the techno-babble probably being exchanged between the three brainiacs.
Justin came over to talk to Tommy. "Hey Tommy!" Justin said.
"Hi Justin. How you doing? I've been trying to contact you since I left, but it seems Divatox has been keeping you all quite busy!" Tommy said back.
"Yeah, I got most your messages." Justin said back.
"Hey, aren't you a bit young to be a Ranger?" Kim asked Justin in quite a confrontational way.
"Well aren't you a bit old to be a Ranger?" Justin said back in a tone just as adversarial as Kim's.
"Hey, come on guys, cool it." Tommy butted in. They bothe stopped at his request.
"It's gonna be weird fighting without you as the White Ranger, Tommy." Zack said.
"I know, but I'm needed as Zeo Five. But Zordon's sorting out the next best thing for you." Tommy said. Just then another vortex appeared. "And it looks like he's here!"
Everyone stared, very confused, at the portal. As the person stepped out they saw it was… Tommy! There were two Tommys standing there in front of them.
"Erm, I think I speak for everyone when I say… Huh?" Kim said almost sarcastically.
Tommy went over to where the new Tommy was standing and greeted him. He turned back to all the others. "I think I should explain." he called out.
"Yeah, that's a good idea!" Kim called out.
"Well, back when I was the White Ranger, Zedd had a plan to destroy me. He made a clone of me and sent him as the Green Ranger to destroy me. After we beat him, he was released from Zedd's spell. Zordon told us that one of us had to leave because two of us permanently in the same timestream could cause permanent damage to the Morphing Grid. We sent the new Tommy to live in Angel Grove's past. Earlier, I realised that with me as Zeo Ranger Five there was no White Ranger. That's when I thought of Tommy. As this isn't a permanent arrangement, having two of us shouldn't cause any damage. So say hello to your new White Ranger." Tommy explained.
"Rangers, we're ready to restore your powers!" Alpha Five called out. He and Alpha Six went round passing out Zeonizers and Power Morphers.
The new Tommy called over the others noise for a moment. "Excuse me everyone. Just to avoid any confusion using the communicators, you can refer to me as White. It'll just stop any mix-ups." Everyone acknowledged.
"Time to test all your powers." Zordon said. "Tommy, will you do the honours?"
"It'd be a pleasure, Zordon." Tommy replied. "Ready guys!"
"IT'S MORPHIN TIME!"
"Black Ranger Power!"
"Pink Ranger Power!"
"Blue Ranger Power!"
"Yellow Ranger Power!"
"Red Ranger Power!"
"White Ranger Power!"
"Zeo Ranger One – Pink!"
"Zeo Ranger Two – Yellow!"
"Zeo Ranger Three – Blue!"
"Zeo Ranger Four – Green!"
"Zeo Ranger Five – Red!"
"Gold Ranger Power!"
"Mountain Blaster Turbo Power!"
"Desert Thunder Turbo Power!"
"Dune Star Turbo Power!"
"Wind Chaser Turbo Power!"
"Red Lightning Turbo Power!"
"White Aquitar Ranger Power!"
"Black Aquitar Ranger Power!"
"Blue Aquitar Ranger Power!"
"Red Aquitar Ranger Power!"
"Yellow Aquitar Ranger Power!"