Shades of Grey – The Transdimensional Archives

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See the introduction to the series, "'Welcome to the Saga', for the disclaimer. Author's notes – this story takes place during the second week of June, a full month after the kids got back from camp in "'A Week to Remember'. Once again, this story became epic length while I was writing it, so sorry about that :-). But still, in my ever-so-humble-opinion, "'Shades of Grey' is worth a long read. Oh, and apologies for my mangling of both Norse and Greek mythology. Finally, this story goes out to three pretty important people – to Zach, for being patient, to Richard, for being there, and to Thuy Thang, for giving us a character we could love. This one's for you guys. Shades of Grey – Chapter One

Nobody ever invited winter to the Sunshine Coast, but it had a long tendency of showing up anyway, indifferent to the wishes of the populace. It wasn't exactly comparable to an Arctic winter, granted, but for the last few years, every successive winter on the coast had been getting steadily cooler. The sky was beautifully clear and cloudless, and the sun still shone as brightly as ever, but when May eventually turned into June, everyone began to feel the same biting chill in the air, and instinctively knew what it meant. Winter was coming. At school, it took us all a few days to recover from the week at Tallebudgera. School camp was an event celebrated almost as much as the final day of school in December, and it was hard to leave the week behind and forge ahead, but we did anyway. Days turned into weeks, life slowly returned to normal, and we all found a new goal – our two week winter holiday, which was quickly approaching. Things kept pretty quiet, thankfully, but we all kept training, preparing ourselves regardless. Around here, you could always feel that something was on its way to disturb the peace, you just didn't know when – but you had to be ready for it. With that philosophy in mind, Trini shut her eyes, deep in concentration. Her eyesight was completely blocked anyway, and it allowed her to focus on channeling her energy into each of her senses. Easily ignoring all background noise, wind through the trees and traffic in the distance, she listened patiently for any clue from her opponent, a footstep, the rustle of clothes or a sudden intake of oxygen. Taking a slow, deliberate step forward, the Yellow Ranger inhaled slightly, following the scents of deodorant and sweat in the air around her, and turned slightly to the left. "'Probably two or three metres,' she thought. "'I'll just wait until…' "Trini, can I take this blindfold off now?" came Zac's voice suddenly. "It's really itchy." Trini smiled. "No, not yet," she replied, and without another word, she quickly took two steps forward and aimed a high roundhouse kick at where she assumed Zac was standing, but stopped suddenly, holding her heel in midair. Then, tapping lightly with her foot, she smiled to herself as she hit something solid and heard Zac stumble backwards a second later with a grunt of surprise. "Okay," she said, reaching up, taking her blindfold off and opening her eyes. "Now you can take it off." Zac reached up and tore the fabric away, immediately turning to Trini. "No fair girl, you cheated!" "You spoke," she replied with a grin. "C'mon, we'll give it another shot. Trust me, you just need to concentrate a bit more. I know you can do this Zac, it's easy." Zac nodded. "If you say so," he said, doubtfully. "Don't worry," she replied, reaching for the blindfold lying on the grass. "You'll get this, you just need a bit of practice." "Hey guys!" came a voice, and both Rangers turned to look. Quickly crossing the park towards them were Kimberly and Teresa, both holding picnic baskets under their arms and Teresa with a thermos as well, heading towards the rug they'd put down on the grass before. "We're back," continued Teresa, "and we've got afternoon tea!" Oh no… Trini immediately spun around to steady Zac, but the Black Ranger was already off and running, happily bounding towards the girls. Hungrily accepting the gift of the basket that Teresa had been carrying, he dropped it down onto the picnic rug, before sitting down and beginning to eagerly explore the contents. "Zac!" cried Trini. "We were practicing, what happened to…?" but seeing that she was competing for Zac's attention with a chicken salad, she threw her hands into the air exasperatedly and walked over to where Kim and Teresa stood watching Zac in silent admiration. "Hmmph. Men." Kimberly smiled and laughed as they all sat down and opened the second basket. "That's a bit harsh," she said, passing Trini a bottle of fruit juice. "Surely not every member of the male species is, uh…" and she broke off, glancing towards Zac. Zac playfully poked his tongue out, grinned and went back to eating. "Okay, bad example," she shrugged. "I mean, I was thinking of a certain Blue Ranger, perhaps…?" Trini grinned and looked up. If Kimberly was anything besides a best friend, it was an eternal matchmaker. "Just friends Kim," she said. "That's the way it's always been." "Kimberly does have a point though," began Teresa thoughtfully. "I mean, you two do make a nice couple." "See? Exactly," nodded Kim. "I'm not the only one who sees it. And we have that winter ball at school in a few weeks too." Trini paused a few seconds before answering. "Subject change," she said, and as Kimberly began to interject, she continued. "And yes, I know you'll hound me mercilessly until I admit you're right. I just feel like delaying the inevitable." The Pink Ranger laughed, and reached for a muffin. "Just so we're clear." Zac reached over, poured himself a drink from the thermos and turned to Kim. "Since we're due for a station break, the guys told you that we're all heading into the Command Centre on the weekend to talk to Zordon, right?" Kim nodded. "Yeah, Tommy spoke to me this morning during science class." Teresa leaned forward. "This sounds rather intriguing," she said. "What's happening?" "Nothing major," replied Trini quickly. "The six of us just want to talk to him about a few things. Don't worry about it." "Speaking of which," began Zac, turning to Teresa, "I don't suppose you guys have seen Ian lately?" "Yeah," nodded Kim, "how is our wayward Grey Ranger?" "We all trained with him at the Command Centre this time last week," Teresa replied, remembering back to the Junior Team's last training session. Everyone always enjoyed being in Ian's company, she thought. He and Brendan always made the training sessions go that much quicker. "Ian's doing great, and he says hi to everyone. Oh, and he mentioned something about a big surprise when we next saw him." Teresa shrugged. "We're not quite sure what he means, so we're kinda curious about the next time we're all together." "Sounds curious," said Zac. "Definitely. But overkill. We have enough mystery in our lives as it is," she smiled. Zac nodded and reached back for something else to eat, but found the basket empty. "Whoa," he said aloud, "I went through that one in record time…" but turning back to Trini, he put forth his best impression of a lost, hungry puppy dog, and for effect, even began to whimper. "More…?" The girls couldn't help it, they all began laughing. "Oh no you don't," began Trini, reaching for the blindfolds and standing up, "if you want more you'll have to work for it." "Fine, fine," he replied, accepting the piece of fabric from Trini and slowly climbing to his feet, Kim and Teresa watching his protests in amusement. "I'll exercise for my keep. Slave driver." "Well someone has to be, with you around," she grinned. "Madam, you wound me." * * * It would take her month, Rita Repulsa reflected, to list every single reason why she truly hated the planet before her. Standing in the observatory, the highest room within the Lunar Castle, Rita stood beside the balcony looking out over the grey moonscape, not seeing a blue and white Earth hanging in space and slowly spinning on its orbit, but something that she should currently own. Something that kept inexplicably escaping her grasp. After all, she'd done what most of those pathetically-weak humans that crawled across the planet's surface only ever dreamed of doing – acquired the power to fulfill her every wish. And when those desires had only gotten grander, she had simply acquired even more power in response. She was better than them, more powerful than them, and by every right, she deserved to own them, every single one of those billions of souls, living to serve her and her only. That particular thought she didn't hate. But even after all this time, not even Zordon suspected the witch's true motivations. Why she'd spent so long attacking one solitary city, desperately seeking to level it to the ground at any cost, and she took comfort in the thought.. Defeating the Power Rangers was only a means to an end – once they were gone, nothing stood between her and her true goal. That didn't it wouldn't be an enjoyable end, though. At the opposite end of the room, the door which led to the laboratory opened with a slow creak, and Finster cautiously peaked out. Scanning the room, he soon saw Rita standing by her telescope, and began to timidly approach. "My Queen…?" he began. She acknowledged his presence with a nod. "Yes, what is it?" "Goldar and Scorpina have both just left with a troop of putties. They told me to report that they have a definite fix on the one you seek, and should find him in a matter of days, if not hours." Rita smiled evilly. "Thank you Finster, that will be all," she said, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. She watched him obediently turn and quickly exit the room, before turning back to the Earth. Very, very soon, it would all be moot. It was just a matter of time. * * * For what was supposed to be a Friday morning, I really wasn't doing too well. Traditionally, the couple of hours before morning recess every Friday is "'catch-up time', where we spend the morning completing any outstanding work or finishing any books that we needed to read before the weekend. Normally, being the workaholic that I am, I've usually already finished everything I have to do and spend the morning either writing, drawing or playing a fun game of "'zap the neanderthal' with Brendan as my sideline commentator. But yesterday I'd spent most of the afternoon at the Command Centre working on my telekinesis with Zordon and Jason, and nearly every afternoon of the week, I'd spent time training with the others, so quite naturally I'd fallen completely behind and now had an enormous pile of work to do on the top corner of my desk. Damn it, according to everyone else, my responsibilities aren't supposed to begin clashing like this until I turn sixteen. Flipping open a book, I looked up briefly as Brendan made his way back across the bustling classroom to his desk after spending a few minutes speaking with Mr Di Certo. "Whoa," he began, grinning as he sat down beside me, "aren't you finished yet?" I growled good-naturedly. "Don't even get me started," I said, grabbing a workbook from the top of the pile, opening it and beginning to scribble down notes. "Still working on the biography for the mutant ninja turtle?" I laughed. "Michaelangelo was a Florentine painter and sculptor," I replied, "and yes, I haven't finished yet. You know, you could give me a hand here." "And where would the fun be in that?" he asked. "I'd rather sit back and be your moral support." Across the room, there came a sudden knock at the door, and although I continued frantically writing without looking up, I saw Mr Di Certo get up from his desk and quickly cross the room. "Ah," he boomed, "class, our new student is here," and as everyone looked over to him, our teacher turned at the door to welcome the new class member into the room. Brendan nudged my shoulder. "We weren't due for a new student, were we?" I shook my head, still without looking up. "Not that I know of." Brendan nodded and looked up, his eyes scanning the room. Seeing the person standing in the door, he immediately did a double take – his jaw dropped with complete shock, and his eyes widened in total surprise. "Ah Peter," he began, his voice oddly quiet, "you might just wanna see this." "Some of you might remember him from the school camp at Tallebudgera last month," Mr Di Certo continued. Instantly, alarm bells starting pounding furiously inside my head, and I immediately dropped my pencil and looked up. What the…? Slowly being ushered into the room by Mr Di Certo, wearing the quintessential Currimundi green and grey uniform, his sandy blond hair and warm smile unmistakable, was… "Ian Thompson, welcome to 6D," Mr Di Certo finished. Scanning all the unfamiliar faces in the classroom and burdened down carrying all his new books, Ian soon spotted Brendan and I and waved cheerfully, as he followed Mr Di Certo across the room. Whether or not I'd retained the presence of mind to telekinetically shift a desk over while no-one was looking, or there was an empty desk there anyway, our teacher steered Ian across the room to the spare seat right next to Brendan. As everyone in the class resumed what they were doing before his sudden arrival, Ian slid into the seat and turned to Brendan and I, who had all the while been watching him cross the room in silent amazement. "Ian, this is Brendan and Peter," said Mr Di Certo. "I'm sure they'll take good care of you. Boys, if you could show Ian around the school at morning tea…?" We both nodded dumbly, and satisfied, Mr D walked away. Totally shocked, both Brendan and I found that the connection between our mouths and our brains wasn't working, and we continued to sit there speechless for a few minutes. In hindsight, I'm sure the both of us were looking pretty silly, and all the while, Ian's grin got brighter and brighter. Finally, Ian spoke. "It's good to see you guys again too," he said, his eyes twinkling. I laughed and finally recovered my voice. "Ian, man, it's great to see you here!" Brendan nodded excitedly. "Yeah dude, what the heck are you doing here in Currimundi? I mean, how did you…when did…where…?" "Yeah, what he said," I nodded, gesturing to Brendan. Ian smiled. "First of all, it really is great to be here in Caloundra and seeing you guys again. As for my arrival, well, remember last week? Surprise!" he said with a wide grin. "Seriously, my dad was one of the senior constables in the Goondiwindi police force, and when I got back from camp, my parents told me that he was due to be transferred out of town. Caloundra just happened to be on the list of places he could choose to be transferred to. Luckily, we found a house in Currimundi, and, well, here I am!" Brendan shook his head. "That's unreal." "Definitely," I said. "But it's awesome having you here. The others are going to be so happy to see you." "Where are Sarah and Teresa and Scott anyway?" he asked, looking around the room. "I kinda hoped to see them too." "The three of them are in the building across the garden, near the grade seven rooms," explained Brendan. Ian nodded, about to reply when suddenly, the school bell rang, the loud shrill tone echoing over the school grounds. In every classroom, students immediately began to pack up, and within a few short seconds, everyone in the school had begun to flood out of their rooms, either going for something to eat, heading down to the oval for a very quick game of football or soccer, or both at the same time. In our own room, as everyone surged out the door, Brendan and I remained at our desks waiting for the room to mostly empty before getting out of our seats and leading Ian out the door to the bagracks. "Rule number one," began Brendan seriously, as we each went to our backpacks to get some food, "crowds are very, very bad things." Ian nodded. "I think it was like that back home, too." "But Currimundi is the only place where the teacher use electronic cattle prods." We both laughed, and Ian turned to me as we closed our bags and stepped away. "So, anyone I need to know about or learn to avoid?" I shook my head. "Not many," I replied. "A couple of the seventh grade teachers are a bit scary, but apart from them, most people around here are okay. The headmaster is Mr Large, and the seventh graders have taken to calling him Mr Big. He's pretty cool. As for the students," and I paused briefly, pointing to three students heading down to the oval, "Joel, Damien and Josh are the worst in our grade, but they've been pretty tame lately." "Thanks," he replied. "I'm getting such a first day rush here." "C'mon," I said, "let's go find Sarah, Scott and Teresa. They'll be totally surprised." "Lead the way," he nodded. We quickly made our way through the garden area that separated the sixth and seventh grade classrooms, soon catching sight of Sarah, Teresa and Scott, standing by the balcony of the raised building and talking. Seeing Brendan and I approach, they all turned to greet us, but at the exact same moment, they all spotted Ian accompanying us. Their reactions were pretty much the same as Brendan's and mine had been earlier, instantaneous and unintentionally quite funny. Scott's eyes went wide, Teresa stopped speaking mid-syllable, and Sarah leaned forward against the railing in disbelief. Another few seconds of silence passed as Brendan and I exchanged glances, and then the three of them raced down the steps and across the concrete path towards us, and the six of us had our second happy reunion. "Ian, it's great to see you!" "What are you doing here in Caloundra?" "Talk about a surprise…" Smiling, Ian quickly recapped the story of his father's transfer to Caloundra to Teresa, Sarah and Scott, and eating our morning tea as we walked, the six of us turned and headed down to the oval, all of us very excited to be together again. "Time for the ten cent tour of Currimundi State School, I think," began Scott, in true tour-guide form. Ian turned to him. "Only ten cents?" Teresa nodded and smiled. "Friday," she replied. "It's cheap day." * * * "I'm glad you agreed to meet with me," Rita ventured cautiously, hoping to gain some kind of reply to break the oppressive silence in the room. Ever since Goldar and Scorpina had returned to the lunar castle with the armoured warrior now facing her, the man had not said a single, solitary word, remaining completely quiet and reserved. Despite her thousands of years, the witch was hard-pressed to remember a time when she ever felt as uncomfortable as she did now. Everything about the warrior was intimating. He wore a suit of lightweight black and grey body armour, and a large collection of knives, daggers, blasters and other assorted weapons were all firmly holstered in place, while hanging at his back was one more weapon, a sleek sword in a scabbard. It was his eyes, though, that were his most frightening feature. Despite his armoured helmet, the warrior's eyes peered through two thin slits in the metal, and they were simply black, darker than night and without a hint of humanity or compassion. The warrior's eyes gave no hint to the soul behind them, only hatred and rage, and the thought scared even her. The Grey Warrior gave no response, so she made her own. "I hope that Goldar and Scorpina were not too forceful in approaching you, they both enjoy their work but get carried away sometimes. I'm glad that you're willing to trade the book," and she glanced quickly to the pouch hanging by the warrior's belt beside a short serrated dagger, "for the Grey Power Ranger." At this, the Grey Warrior stepped forward, moving easily and silently despite his armour. At least she'd succeeded in getting his attention. "I appreciate that you wish to help me fulfill quest," he finally began, his voice low and dark, almost the same as his eyes, if it was possible to attach colour to speech. "But I am unsure as to whether or not I should truly take you seriously. You have a long reputation, Rita Repulsa, of not being the most trustworthy person in the galaxy. Particularly if I have something you want." Rita nodded and smiled nastily. "You want proof, Grey Warrior?" and she quickly turned to her telescope, scanning the Earth's surface and immediately finding what she was looking for. "Come with me to the planet below," she began, turning back to him, "and I'll give you more than just the proof you require. I'll give you the real thing."

<center>~*~</center> <XMETA CONTENT="Microsoft Works 4.0" NAME="Generator"> <XBODY> See my first ever fanfic, "'Welcome to the Saga', for the disclaimer. Shades of Grey – Chapter Two

The rest of the day passed pretty quickly. Not surprisingly, Brendan and I didn't get much work done, and didn't pay much attention to what was going on in class, either. I don't think either of us could have concentrated even if we'd tried, actually, it was just so fantastic seeing Ian in Caloundra. We spent the rest of the day talking to him, mostly about Goondiwindi and his move here to the Sunshine Coast. Anyway, when the three o'clock bell rang and the school day was officially over, the six of us all happily met up again. We'd earlier made plans to meet the older teens in Caloundra after school had finished for the day, and took it as a given that Ian would come with us so that we could show him around the city as well as introduce him to the seniors. Ian didn't think twice about accepting our invitation, and quickly ran down to the carpark to find his parents. Happy that their son had settled in with some new friends so quickly, they agreed, and everyone piled into the Tiaron's minivan, where Scott and Teresa's father drove us all into town, dropping the six of us Sunland Shopping Centre. "And this," announced Brendan loudly, holding his arms wide, as we left the shops and began the trek along the main street, "is Caloundra." He paused, a thoughtful statement on his face. Walking behind him, Teresa and I shook our heads, knowing just how much Brendan loved playing to an audience. "Yes, this is about it. But given one or two more major zord battles, we'll be able to destroy even more major landmarks for your enjoyment." Ian smiled. "Well, that explains why it was so easy to find an empty house to move into." Sarah turned to him. "Is that why your family moved so quickly from Goondiwindi to Caloundra? Because you already had a house waiting?" "That and a few other reasons," he nodded. "My parents figured that the sooner we moved, the sooner we'd settle in. Apparently, they really wanted Dad to start with the Caloundra Police at the earliest opportunity, too, and I think they didn't want me to miss out on too much school." He paused then, as we walked past the old Holden Garage with its ancient petrol pumps. "I know this might sound a bit silly, but I'm kinda missing Goondiwindi already, you know?" "That's understandable," replied Scott. "Sounds like a great place." "Definitely," Ian agreed. "But I have to say I'm definitely already liking Caloundra. It's not too hot or cold, you've got the beach and the ocean, Brisbane is only an hour away." He broke off, inhaling deeply and smiling broadly. "And the smell of the ocean, incredible." I looked around to the others before replying. "You know, we've never really given it a second thought, to be honest." "No way," he said, "you guys should totally appreciate this more." As we continued on, passing by the Fire and Police Stations, Teresa looked ahead to where a group of six teenagers were walking past the City Council building, heading down the street in our direction. "Hey guys," she began, "I think that's them, coming our way." She turned to Ian with a smile. "They're gonna be so surprised." "Hey, if I'd known I was going to be this popular, I would've moved here months ago," he laughed. As we approached, sure enough, Teresa was right, we could al see the seniors, Zac and Kimberly in the lead. Spotting us, they all smiled and quickened their approach. "Afternoon everyone!" called Zac. Seeing six instead of five, he continued with, "say, who's your friend…?" But as he spoke, Ian stepped into full view, and as Zac's voice trailed off, we could all clearly see recognition dawning on everyone's faces. Kimberly and Zac were the first to move. "Ian!" they cried simultaneously, and immediately broke into a run, the other four Rangers following them and rapidly bridging the distance between us. The six teens were as excited as we'd been, jumping around, smiling joyfully, shaking Ian's hand and welcoming him to the city. Amidst the fanfare, I glanced quickly to Brendan and he returned the look, the pair of us experiencing our second shot of deja vu for the day. "All right boy," started Tommy with a smile. "Details, now. What are you doing in Caloundra?" Ian nodded, knowing that he'd probably be sick of telling this story by the end of the day. "My dad was a senior constable in the Goondiwindi police force…" "And he got transferred to Caloundra," interrupted Zac suddenly. "My aunt is a legal clerk in the magistrate's office," he explained, "and I'd heard her talking about a new officer being transferred in called Thompson. Man, I missed it completely." "Well, however you arrived," began Jason warmly, "it's awesome to have you here in Caloundra." "Thanks," he grinned. "It's awesome to be here. So where are we headed this afternoon, anyway?" "To the Strand at the top of town to catch a movie," replied Trini, "before heading over to check out a beach concert tonight." "Actually," began Scott, tapping his backpack, "I've got a book due back at the library today. Could we maybe detour around?" "Sure, no problem," replied Kim, and with that, the twelve of us turned and continued walking back up the street. As we all turned down into the street passing the library, I couldn't help but step back briefly and follow my friends from a few steps behind, silently observing the group. Everybody was talking and laughing, and Ian was pretty much the centre of everyone's attention. "Hey," came a voice suddenly, and I turned to see Jason walking beside me. "Are you okay? You look a little wistful." I nodded. "Yeah, it's just, I'm not really sure," I replied. "Seeing everyone together like this, it's like I'm watching something special, you know? Something magical, almost." Jason turned back to the group, nodding. "I understand," he said. "The team of Power Rangers is finally complete. I'd say that's pretty special." I smiled. "Yeah, I think you're right," I nodded. "Thanks. C'mon, let's catch up," but all of a sudden, without warning, I felt a cold chill, as if a breeze had just blown right through me, and I shivered, a chill going down my spine. It was as I'd stepped into a dark shadow, or a black thundercloud had passed in front of the sun. I froze, midstep, looking around the street in confusion, but the sun was still shining brightly, and the only building tall enough to cast a significant shadow was a nearby construction site, all steel girders and wooden scaffolding. I think they were building a new block of apartments or something. Jason stopped, seeing the look on my face. "Hey guys, wait up!" he called, and hearing the concern in Jason's voice, everyone turned around and quickly jogged back. "Peter, what's the matter?" "I don't know," I replied, massaging my temple, as the others gathered around us. "It's like, it's like there's something in the air, something bad. I can't describe it but I can feel it." "Perhaps some kind of psychic premonition?" asked Billy. I shook my head. "I don't think so. I don't "'see' anything, it's more of a feeling." Scott turned to Jason. "Think we should call Zordon?" Jason nodded, worry evident in his eyes. "I think we'd better," and he raised his communicator to his mouth and spoke. "Zordon, it's Jason, do you read me?" "I hear you Jason," crackled Zordon's voice. "What seems to be the problem?" "We're here in the city, all twelve of us," he answered, "and Peter's experiencing what looks like a kind of premonition. He says he can feel something bad in the air." Zordon paused for a second before replying. "Torlian energy does tend to manifest itself differently within different people," he responded. "Experiencing premonitions is certainly not unusual. I believe it would be a good idea to check around, just in case." Jason nodded. "Okay, thanks. We'll check in soon," he finished, and he turned back to me. "Still with you?" I nodded. "Yeah, it's worse now than ever," and I turned back to Ian with a half-smile. "Sorry to do this to you on your first day in town, bro." Ian grinned. "Don't worry about it. Always up for a bit of adventure." "Well, you heard what Zordon said," continued Jason, glancing around the group. "Let's take this seriously. Split up, and do a quick check of the area. But be careful guys. Peter, let's go." * * * Meanwhile, about fifty metres down the road behind us, the Grey Warrior stood watching us, standing on a thin steel beam at the top of the construction site, about sixty feet above the ground. His blaster unholstered, his finger ready to fire. He had arrived on the planet's surface several minutes ago, and had been silently watching the group, remaining carefully out of sight, his vision and now his weapon trained solely on the Grey Ranger. The witch had been right, and he'd once again tracked down his nemesis, ready to deliver swift justice. At last… He took a step forward, brushing against a vertical girder but never stumbling. Fear had no place in the warrior's mind – he knew his mission. It was simple, really. Destroy the Grey Ranger. Watching from on high, he saw the group split up, his target leaving the gathering beside one of the others, a short boy with curly hair, the two slowly wandering back down the street past the construction site. Perfect. Smiling coldly beneath his helmet, the warrior took slow, deliberate aim with his weapon, savoring his moment of triumph. He would not, he could not miss. He'd waited so long, his quarry had escaped retribution far too many times. But not now. He'd fire only one shot, and that would be it, his mission completed. Justice served. And with that thought, his finger steadily tightened around the trigger. Suddenly, a blurred form swept past him in a blaze of light, and a shining silver sword flashed out of nowhere, striking the warrior's weapon and instantly slicing it in two. The warrior dropped the blaster in surprise, and the two halves fell to the girder, ricocheted off and disappeared into the void of air on either side. Looking up at his opponent, the warrior grimaced – the Orange Power Ranger stood before him, sword in hand. "You shouldn't play with guns," I said, taking a menacing step over the girder towards him. Quickly analysing the warrior before me, my first thought was that he belonged to the Brotherhood, with his black boots, belt and gauntlets, grey body armour and full face-mask, but quickly dismissed the thought. A member of the Brotherhood wouldn't be armed to the teeth like this guy, and whereas Ultramarine's eyes had burned bright with power and his own inflated ego, this guy's eyes were a cold black, absent of light or warmth. "Who are you, anyway?" The Grey Warrior did not care for answering my question. "Give me the grey one," he sneered, his voice low. The grey one…? Ian. "Over my dead body, pal." "That can be arranged," he replied, and in one smooth motion, he reached back, unsheathed his sword and slashed it towards me. I instantly raised my Power Sword, blocking his weapon with a resounding clang before batting the blade away and slicing forward with a horizontal stroke. He ducked nimbly under the slice, knocking me backwards with a rapid kick to the stomach before pressing forward, his blade slicing through the air. I stumbled back, quickly finding my footing on the narrow beam, realising that I was at least sixty feet above the ground, and expertly blocked his attacks, before going on the offensive. Ducking under a stroke, he countered with a low horizontal slash, but I easily jumped up and back over the blow. He angrily lunged forward, but I brought my blade down hard, knocking his sword down before sending him stumbling back with a lightning-fast elbow to the jaw. With the advantage, I pressed forward stepping forward and slashing high. The Grey Warrior easily batted the blade away, and retaliated with an immediate diagonal slice, which I quickly dodged. He repeated the move but I raised my sword, blocked his blade and forced it aside before striking home, the tip of my weapon carving through his body armour. He glanced down briefly, looked up and immediately began to back away, turning and quickly crossing the girder away from me. I pushed forward and continued after him, stroke after stroke slashing through nothing but air. A vertical beam stood ahead of us, but the warrior nimbly climbed around it, while my sword cleaved neatly through it without slowing down. He turned back to me as I climbed around the girder, anger in those black eyes, suddenly holding another blaster in his left hand. I immediately raised my sword, but he aimed straight down and pulled the trigger, the blast striking the girder and instantly throwing up a cloud of sparks and smoke. Seeing me quickly step back, he took the chance to escape, turning and leaping across a wide chasm, landing briefly on another beam, before dropping lightly onto a catwalk which passed underneath, reholstering his blaster as he fell. No sooner had the warrior landed when he heard footsteps behind him, and he ducked instinctively as a thin blue staff swept through the air past him. He turned quickly, raising his sword as Scott leaped forward and swung again, blocking the weapon in midswing but leaving his side vulnerable. Scott quickly took advantage, smashing the end of the staff into the warrior's side before a high kick sent his opponent crashing against the railing. The warrior recovered quickly and spun around as Scott raised his staff and faced him. "Hold on Scott!" came a sudden voice, and both combatants looked up to see Trini drop down onto the catwalk, daggers ready. The Yellow Ranger immediately lunged forward, but with one slice the warrior blocked both before pushing Trini away, turning and fending off the blows Scott was raining down on him. Behind him, Trini recovered and leapt back towards him, and ducking under another lunge from Scott, the warrior jumped onto the railing then flipped back over Trini. Without a glance backwards and quickly returning his sword to its scabbard, he continued, diving over the railing and somersaulting down onto wooden scaffolding, the supports shaking as he quickly raced through the wooden maze. The warrior cursed his luck as he put as much distance as he could between himself and the various Rangers he'd encountered. He did not remember the hated Grey Ranger ever being part of a team, but he should have assumed automatically that the other Rangers would interfere in his plans. Quickly thinking of a new approach as he dived down onto a lower plank, he came to a very sudden stop as three arrows whizzed through the air and thudded into the platform before him. He looked around as more arrows rained down towards him, missing him by mere centimetres, and soon spotted the bow-wielding Pink Ranger, already adjusting her aim and preparing to shoot again. Leaping from girder to girder, Zac somersaulted through the air with supernatural agility and dropped down onto the wooden scaffolding carrying his axe, while across from him, brandishing her mace, Sarah did the same. "You mess with one of us," started the Black Ranger. "And you mess with all of us," finished Sarah, and in perfect unison, both combatants swung their weapons towards the warrior. He quickly dropped to the floor, and the weapons passed harmlessly above him, before turning and leaping towards Zac with a high kick. Zac nimbly dodged to the side, bringing his axe towards his opponent and forcing him to retreat back towards Sarah. The Purple Ranger was ready, though, catching the warrior with a glancing blow from her mace. The warrior quickly recovered but was forced to leap out of the way again as Zac swung his Power Axe back towards him with deadly accuracy. Once again realising the need for a retreat, the warrior ignored his opponents, and they watched in awe as he agily swung over the railing, clambered down several metres of support poles, leaped across an enormous gap and raced across the beams, moving impossibly fast for someone burdened with heavy armour. The warrior came to the end of the beam he was travelling on, and before him was nothing but empty space, an atrium of air. An empty, oversized freight elevator hung suspended in the void down below, and hesitating only another second, he dived down through the air, somersaulting onto it, finding his footing and immediately turning to see if he'd been followed. "Power Rangers," he muttered, seeing various brightly-coloured figures climbing through the site towards him. "Stay out of my way." "Then do yourself a favour," said Tommy, suddenly standing behind him. "Don't turn around." Enraged, the Grey Warrior spun around, immediately swinging a high roundhouse punch towards the Green Ranger. Tommy saw the move coming and easily ducked under it, before striking his opponent back with a rapid uppercut and landing several rapid punches to the warrior's chest. The Grey Warrior quickly recovered, blocked and batted away Tommy's fists before smashing him back with a powerful backhand. He followed the move by spinning on the spot and delivering a high tornado kick, but the Green Ranger caught his opponent's foot in midair and spun the warrior away. His opponent regained his balance quickly, and Tommy charged across the hanging platform. He raced towards the Grey Warrior and leapt into the air with a high kick, but the warrior easily sidestepped the attack, retaliating with a flurry of punches. Tommy spun around on the spot, effectively dodging every attack, before kicking away his enemy's left arm and aiming a lightning-fast heel to his jaw. The warrior narrowly blocked the kick, and smashed Tommy back with a rapid right hook. He charged forward to continue the assault, but Tommy was ready, deftly blocking the warrior's attacks, grabbing his arm and knocking him back with a well-aimed judo chop just as the warrior landed a blow to his shoulder. The two combatants instantly spun away from each other and crashed to the floor. Across from him, the Grey Warrior quickly jumped to his feet, but just as Tommy was doing the same, an incredible pain shot through his body. He cried out in surprise as his legs collapsed beneath him and he dropped to the floor. All of a sudden, he just felt so weak… As the Grey Warrior advanced, he desperately backed away, weakly stumbling back across the elevator. Then, he hit the edge and ran out of room, knowing that retreating any further would send him plunging to the ground far below. He frantically glanced up and around, desperately looking for help, and saw the Red Ranger standing on a girder several floors above. "Jason…!" Watching the fight from above, Jason looked on in fear as Tommy collapsed, already knowing instinctively what was happening. His powers had given out on him. Zordon had warned them all about this. "Someone get down there! Get to Tommy!" Teresa and Brendan were closest to the action, on opposite sides of the elevator, and seeing the danger, they both raced to the rescue. Quickly crossing over the steel beams, the two Rangers nimbly leaped own through the elevator railings side-by-side, landed and put themselves between Tommy and the warrior, brandishing their weapons and forcing him back. Suddenly, there was a battle cry, and they all looked up to see a third form drop down onto the elevator, Billy with his lance, and confront the armoured warrior. The Blue Ranger immediately went on the offensive, aiming high with his lance. The warrior rapidly blocked the attack, and Billy swung again, aiming low. Catching the weapon and batting it away, the warrior dived backwards as Billy lunged forward, swinging again with his lance. With the Blue Ranger only centimetres behind him and realising he was outmatched, the warrior rolled away from his opponent before leaping off the platform, spinning through the air and rebounding off a catwalk, now with a clean uninterrupted path through the girders to the street below.</fon