A Week to Remember: Chapter Eight – The Transdimensional Archives

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See my original story, "'Welcome to the Saga', for the disclaimer. Congratulations, you made it right through!

<h5><center> A Week to Remember Chapter Eight By Peter J. Smith </center></h5>

"…Three, two, one," counted Brendan, as the surge of white lightning struck down from above, forking in the air and dancing over the treetops and buildings, repeatedly striking the ground around the fallen monsters. Without warning, there was a sudden explosion which obscured our view, and as the six of us watched, Nightmare and Panthor rose from the cloud of smoke, rejuvenated and standing over ten storeys tall. The two monsters glanced towards each other for a second before turning and glaring menacingly at us. Teresa turned to me. "Can we handle two at once?" she asked, worriedly. "We don't have a choice," I said. Then, the six of us simultaneously lifted our arms to the sky and raised our voices. "We need dinozord power, now!" True to form, the six mighty zords faithfully responded to our call, and a powerful and savage roar announced their arrival, echoing up and down the Gold Coast. We all turned to look – the mechanized animals were powering towards the campsite, one after the other, with the orange Stegozord leading the charge and the mighty Brontozord and shining Dilophozord powering towards us immediately behind it. Following them, the nimble Velociraptor was agily darting from street to street, leaping over houses and cars with its head held low, alongside the low-flying Rhamphorynchus. Finally, bringing up the rear was the silver Iguanodon, peering down over the other zords as they all charged towards us. "All right guys," I called, "let's go!" And the six of us instantly turned into streaks of energy and teleported into our approaching zords. I materialised in the Stegozord's cockpit, immediately logging on. "Stegozord, online! Transforming now!" Instantly, in a flash of light, the zords began to transform. The Stegozord's back and front limbs immediately contracted against the zord's body, and once the plates along its back had folded down, the zord's orange and silver body rotated vertical to rest on the zord's chin. Standing beside it, the Brontozord's forelimbs were pulled together, and the silver neck sections contracted, lowering the zord's head to ground level. Finally, when the tail flipped back and the zord's hind legs were pulled against its body, the zord's body rose vertical, it too resting on its chin and forelimbs. Racing towards the two zords, the Dilophozord nimbly leapt into the air, its lower legs folding up at the knees, its forelimbs drawing closely to its body and its head dropping down behind the chestplate, revealing the Megazord's head, before descending down onto the two other zords and providing two legs and a body for the Megazord. Behind the zord, the Velociraptor leapt into the air and split in half, the legs, forearms and head collapsing down against the body segments and the tail sections folding back, before both halves connected to the Dilophozord, giving the Megazord arms. Finally, Sarah angled the Rhamphorynchus down towards us, and the purple zord was drawn against the Megazord with a crackle of electricity, giving it a chest-shield. Instantly, the five of us were seated in the Megazord's control room, staring out across the camp at the two monsters before us. "Megazord, power up!" The Megazord stood on the sports field beside the camp, the massive Iguanodon standing beside it. It was the first time we'd formed the Megazord since battling Ultramarine, and the zord looked more powerful than ever, the Megazord's head having undergone a significant redesign. A thin strip of orange ran around the Megazord's chin, and above that, a silver faceplate covered the lower half of the face, while a thin vertical strip accounted for the nose. The cockpit say behind the Megazord's golden eyes, and a silver v-shaped design ran up over the brow. Aside from a small silver crown piece, the back, top and sides of the head were all covered in aqua armour plating. The Megazord looked both majestic and awe-inspiring. The Megazord turned to the Iguanodon. "Ian, you all set?" I asked, speaking into the radio. The Iguanodon took a step forward and roared. "Ready to roll," Ian replied with a slight smile. "Right then," began Scott, "let's rock!" And with that, the two zords turned back to Panthor and Nightmare and began to power across the battlefield towards them, raising their arms and ready for battle, shaking the ground with each tremendous step. Tightening his grip on his weapon, Nightmare took a giant step forward towards the approaching Iguanodon, eagerly anticipating a rematch with the Grey Ranger, but suddenly, Panthor raised his hand and halted the monster's advance. Nightmare turned back to him, confused. "Let's see how well they play on our turf," Panthor grinned nastily. Turning back to the approaching zords, Panthor held his arms wide, the blue sapphires on either gauntlet glowing. Without warning, there was a flash of blue light, and instantly, the blue sky, white clouds and bright sun had disappeared, replaced by a solid purple-coloured haze. The beach, campsite and road, indeed, the entire city was gone as well – we were all suddenly standing on a wide featureless plain ringed by jagged blue mountains, the peaks the same colour as the earth beneath us. "Whoa," started Scott, beside me in the Megazord cockpit. "What happened? Where the heck are we?" "We're back in Panthor's dimension," said Teresa, turning to her brother. The radio crackled. "Guys," began Ian, regarding the situation in the Iguanodon, "the blast that enlarged the monsters regenerated Panthor's crystals and gave him back his powers." "Well," I said, "at least this time, we know how to defeat him." Across the plain, satisfied with his handiwork, Panthor turned to his comrade and smiled. "Now we get them." Nightmare nodded, and turning back to the Iguanodon, raised his weapon and charged forward, while right behind him, Panthor did the same. "Guys," started Sarah, "look out! Here they come!" Of the two monsters, Panthor moved fastest, overtaking Nightmare, leaping into the air and flying towards us, his sword raised. Landing with an almighty crash, he slashed the weapon towards us, but the Megazord nimbly ducked back out of danger. Charging forward, Panthor raised his weapon and swung again, but the Megazord went on the offensive, blocking his arm with a metallic clang before striking the monster back with a powerful left hook. Panthor stumbled back but recovered quickly, lashing out and carving through the Megazord's chestplate with his claws. The Megazord remained standing, and knocking Panthor's claws away, smashed its fists against the beast's chest, the blow lifting him off his feet and sending him crashing to the ground. Panthor quickly rolled to his feet, and agily sprang forward. The Megazord stepped back as he leapt towards us, catching him on the cheek with a right hook as he went by. He turned rapidly, smashing his forearm into the zord's chestplate, but the Megazord recovered quickly, batting away his fist and blocking a low kick before getting in three rapid hits to the demon's chest. Panthor staggered back and angrily swung his blade at the Megazord's head, but ducking under the blade, the Megazord rammed its fists against Panthor's stomach and knocked the beast to the ground with a thundering crash. "We're not getting anywhere," said Scott, turning to me. "We've gotta smash those sapphires," said Brendan. "That should weaken the guy and get us home." "You're right," I nodded, and turned back to the other Rangers. "Let's go for the heavy artillery." "We need the Power Sword, now!" Behind us, Nightmare had charged towards the Iguanodon, raising his staff and sweeping the blade towards the zord's head. Ian ducked the zord harmlessly under the curved blade, and when Nightmare repeated the attack, swinging again, the zord blocked the blade in a shower of sparks, before slamming the monster back and charging towards him. Nightmare recovered and turned back to the zord, his eyes glowing brightly – seconds later, the massive laser barrage struck home, and the front of the silver zord erupted in sparks and smoke. Ian glanced quickly around the cockpit, and confident in his battle machine, pressed the zord forward. The Iguanodon thundered out of the cloud of smoke, seemingly unharmed, and lashed out at the surprised monster, landing several right and left hooks to the monster in rapid succession before a powerful kick sent him to the ground. As Nightmare rolled to a stop and slowly climbed to his feet, across the battleground, the Megazord's golden eyes began to flash, and as arcs of electricity crackled around the zord, there was a brilliant flash of light, and the Megazord now stood holding the formidable Power Sword. "All right!" cried Teresa happily. "Yeah," agreed Sarah, "it worked!" Wielding its powerful weapon, the Megazord triumphantly turned towards Panthor, who had just leapt to his feet. Seeing our weapon, the monster angrily raced forward, raising his blade and swinging the weapon towards us. The Megazord coolly swung the Power Sword at Panthor's descending weapon, and the two blades met in a shower of sparks – our sword sliced clean through Panthor's blade, snapping the weapon neatly in two. Panthor suddenly froze, staring dumbfounded at the remains of his weapon, and seizing the opportunity, the Megazord raised its sword and sliced the blade through the air towards Panthor's left gauntlet, striking the sapphire and instantly destroying it. Panthor stumbled back amid a cloud of smoke, and stepping forward, the Megazord swung the Power Sword at the monster's exposed right gauntlet – again, there was a fiery explosion as the sapphire shattered into thousands of tiny shards, but suddenly, there was a bright pulse of light… …and we were right back at Tallebudgera Camp, the Megazord and Iguanodon landing side-by-side on the highway while Panthor fell to the ground on the sportsfield with an earth-shattering crash, landing beside Nightmare in a cloud of dust. "Awesome!" cried Brendan. "We did it!" Inside the Iguanodon, Ian smiled and, keeping a wary eye on their opponents, spoke into the radio. "Good job guys." "Thanks man," I replied. Suddenly, across from us, Nightmare let out a low growl and began once more advancing towards the Iguanodon. "Hey Ian, heads up." Ian squared his jaw and the Iguanodon took a thundering step forward. "Got it covered guys." As we looked on, Nightmare stepped over the fence and onto the road, when suddenly, the Iguanodon opened fire, successive energy blasts exploding from the mechanised beast's eyes. Nightmare was lifted off his feet and fell to the ground in a huge explosion of sparks and fire, landing with an almighty crash. Recovering, he slowly staggered to his feet, and the Iguanodon took a step forward. "You're going down," said Ian, then raised his voice. "Iguanodon Essence Blast, fire!" The Iguanodon immediately held its arms wide, and lightning bolts struck down around the zord, illuminating the Gold Coast with bright flashes of light. Eyes glowing red, the zord's chestplate symbol began to shine, and all of a sudden, the symbol blasted towards Nightmare with a burst of energy, spinning through the air and smashing into him, instantly destroying the monster in a fiery explosion that shook the campsite. "Whoa, nice firepower," Brendan nodded. "Well, with him down," began Teresa, "let's take out Panthor." The radio crackled. "Well done Ian," boomed Zordon's voice. "Rangers, to destroy Panthor, you should know that we have finished reconfiguring the Iguanodon, and it is now capable of combining with the Megazord." I nodded, but couldn't help myself and began to grin. "All right guys, let's do it," and the five of us raised our arms to the sky. "We call upon the power of Titanus, now!" Within seconds, the ground began to shake, and as we watched in awe, the mighty carrier zord Titanus exploded onto the scene with a savage roar, punching through a row of hills on the horizon, sending a cloud of debris high into the air and powering through the city towards us, silver armour sparkling in the morning sun and red eyes glowing, the twin side cannons already positioning themselves over the zord's armoured shoulders. "Ultrazord, power up!" Immediately, the Iguanodon's chestplate teleported away, reattaching itself to the Megazord while the Iguanodon's arms folded back to reveal a row of cannons and the zord's body split in two, each half swinging out horizontally. Hanging over the Megazord for a brief moment, the Iguanodon's head descended onto the Megazord's crownpiece while its body sections attached to the Megazord's arms and shoulders, forming impenetrable armour plating. Finally, as Ian found himself teleported into our control room, sitting between Sarah and Teresa, the combined mass of zords dropped down into Titanus's back, and the Ultrazord had formed. Panthor defiantly stood facing the towering Ultrazord. "You'll never defeat me!" "Let's take him down," I said, and the five Rangers sitting around me nodded in agreement. "Ultrazord," we all began, "lock on, and fire!" Instantly, the targetting systems within the colossal Ultrazord locked onto the demon, and seconds later, an enormous barrage of laser blasts, fireballs and guided rockets roared forth from the Ultrazord, exploding through the air and smashing into the monster, immediately tearing him apart in a cataclysmic explosion that lit up the Gold Coast, sent a huge fireball billowing skyward and rattled buildings all the way down into the next state. There was a second of silence then, as the smoke cloud began to clear, and I spun around to face Ian. "And that's how we do it," I said with a grin. Ian laughed. "Hold up, I'll take some notes." "Well," began Teresa, "that was certainly an intense start to the day." "Yeah," agreed Brendan, "but a lot more exciting than a jog on the beach. Come to think of it, it'd make some great end-of-camp stories as well…" Scott smiled. "You gotta admit, he's got a point there. But I think that now would be a good time to head back before we're missed. Shall we go?" <center>~*~</center> After their escape from Nightmare thanks to the Grey Ranger's heroic rescue, everybody had raced back to the main hall and taken cover, the Currimundi students and teachers knowing exactly how large these battles generally became. Everyone, camp staff and teachers included, had gathered together, sitting in a close circle and holding hands, and listened to the zords' arrival outside. For a few minutes, there was a strange silence, and nobody dared to get up and have a look, but there suddenly came an almighty crash followed by the ground violently shaking and two incredibly loud explosions. Then, there was silence. A sudden flash of light drew everyone's attention, and as one, the group sighed in relief – the six Power Rangers stood framed at the side of the room, having teleported into the building. Smiling with wonder, Mr Di Certo stood to his feet and slowly walked over to them. The Orange Ranger stepped forward. "It's all right," nodded the Orange Ranger, placing his hand reassuringly on the teacher's shoulder. "You'll be safe now. Both the monsters were defeated and destroyed." Saying no more, the Ranger stepped back, and in unison, the six superheroes reached for their morphers, in preparation to teleport away. In the back of the room, the silence was suddenly broken – someone began clapping, the noise echoing throughout the room. Within seconds, every single person in the room was clapping and cheering, throwing their arms up and jumping up and down, joyously celebrating the victory. We all paused, and I glanced from Teresa on my right to Ian on my left, blushing beneath my helmet and realising that the other Rangers probably felt the same way. Then, I nodded, and in six simultaneous flashes of light, we teleported away. <center>~*~</center> The six of us landed behind the building, safely out of sight. Demorphing quickly, we quietly snuck back into the building, joining the celebration going on within. Once the fanfare had died down, the teachers quickly called the roll, finding that everyone was accounted for. After that, it was basically a replay of what had happened several mornings ago after Pisces' attack. The camp staff called the press and told them what had taken place in the early hours of the morning, sure to include that everyone was okay, and one-by-one, the students were all checked over by a team of nurses, and eventually let into the steadily-filling food hall for breakfast. Strangely enough, the topic of conversation over breakfast was not what the activities for the day were or what might have been happening back home, but the battle this morning. The six of us sat together, and I have to admit, it was quite funny seeing Ian blush redly every time he overheard someone mention how awesome the Grey Ranger had been. Breakfast went overtime, and it was soon nine o'clock. As the last student to be checked out by a nurse came in and grabbed something to eat, there was a loud commotion outside, and we all turned to see Mrs Larson and Mr Burgess come charging into the hall. "Everyone," began Mr Burgess, out of breath, "you have to get ready, the Goondiwindi bus is going to be here in twenty minutes!" There was a second of silence then, as everybody realised the exact same thing – in all our excitement, we'd completely forgotten that it was the last day of camp. What followed next could only be described as total pandemonium, as everyone raced back to their dorms and began a massive clean-up. Sleeping bags were folded up, clothes were stuffed into suitcases, and everyone began cleaning. In cabin 12, I finished packing and hauled all my bags outside, leaving them beside the growing pile of luggage on the grass, before heading back inside to make sure I'd packed everything. Scott was nowhere to be seen, and I briefly wondered whether he'd strayed too close to someone and had accidentally been stuffed into a duffel bag, but he soon appeared at the door, mop, bucket and broom in hand. Everybody had pretty much packed up all their belongings, and we all headed for the door, Scott managing to snag me with the broom on the way out. "You're in this too, mister," he said. "We'll see about that," I replied. Seeing as the cabin was now empty, I raised my hand and a telekinetic "'wave' swept through the room, starting at the back and effectively sweeping every single particle of dirt out the door. Scott watched me wordlessly, then shook his head. "Smart alec," he said with a grin. By now, the Goondiwindi bus had finally arrived and was parked on the gravel driveway. All the Goondiwindi teachers and students dragged their luggage over to the bus and began loading their bags, as all the Currimundi students gathered around them. Brendan, Sarah, Teresa, Scott and I stood together, watching as the Goondiwindi students said their goodbyes to the camp staff and kids from Currimundi before climbing up into the sleek, grey bus. Petey and Luke climbed up the steps but turned and waved to Brendan, Scott and I with beaming grins. The three of us waved back, glad to have met the two guys but knowing we'd never be able to play Scrabble the same way ever again. Finally, Lochlan and Ian wandered over to the five of us. Smiling amiably, Lochlan shook each of our hands in turn. "It was real nice to meet you guys," he said. "It was a great week," nodded Scott. "That it was," he agreed, before turning to Ian. "I'm gonna go grab a seat on the bus. You want me to save you one?" Ian nodded. "That'd be great," he said, and as Lochlan dashed off, the Grey Ranger turned back to us. "Well," he began simply, turning to each of us in turn. "Look, I uh, I know this isn't goodbye. I mean, I'm one button-press away," he said, lightly tapping his communicator. "But, I guess, I'm gonna miss you all so much." Sarah smiled. "Don't worry about it. The feeling is more than mutual." "Yeah," agreed Teresa, "you're one of us now. We're gonna constantly feel like we're missing someone." Ian nodded. "Yeah, I realise that. But what I wanted to say was thank you, for everything you guys did for me. It was an honour to save the world alongside superheroes." Scott stepped forward. "Ian, you did just as much for us, if not more so," he said. "We should be the ones thanking you." "After all," continued Brendan, "you're a superhero too." "And therefore," I finished, "a large part of that honour is ours." Ian laughed. "Don't tell me that," he smiled, stepping forward and shaking hands with each of the guys, "it'll do my ego no good at all." We all laughed at that, and Ian quickly hugged the girls before stepping back. "So, I guess, I'll see you when I see you," he nodded, and with that, he turned and walked over to the bus. He was the last Goondiwindi student, and when he hopped onboard, the door closed with a "'hiss', and the bus driver eased the bus down the driveway and out onto the highway, the bus soon disappearing from sight as we all stood waving it goodbye. <center>~*~</center> The Currimundi buses arrived two hours later, around about noon, and we all left the main hall where we'd been sitting and talking after several games of cricket down on the beach, went across to where we'd piled our luggage, and carried it over. The buses were long, streamlined and red, Brendan pointing out that the school must have won the lottery sometime in the past week to afford them. The week had taken its toll on us – we were all tired and looking forward to the long, quiet trip home. The camp staff came down to see us off, and we all wandered over, thanking Mr Burgess for being such a cool headmaster and briefly chatting to Mr Potter and Ms Moule about the week, thanking them for the great time we'd all had. We said goodbye, and while the girls and Brendan headed for one bus, Scott and I walked over to the other one. Taking a step up onto the bus, I was suddenly hit with an urge to see the campsite one last time, and turning around, I saw the main hall with its colourful mural, saw the food hall, the shower block, the line of small cabins, and took a final, lingering glance around the grassy field. What a week it had been. A week to remember. So much had changed. I smiled to myself and turned back, stepping up into the bus. And so much hadn't. I quickly dived into a seat, securing the window-seat much to Scott's chagrin, and settled down into it. Then, the bus began to move, and we left Tallebudgera Camp behind us, pulling onto the highway and picking up some speed, the Gold Coast flashing by. Scott turned to me. "Well, at least the ride home should be quicker than the trip here." I laughed. "Here's hoping." "Definitely." Smiling, I turned back to the window, shut my eyes and contentedly leaned against the window-sill, and before long, the rhythmic vibrations of the bus had eased me into a deep, soothing, peaceful sleep. <h5><center>The End</center></h5>

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