Disclaimer: All characters in this chapter are of my own creation. "Power
Rangers ZEO" belongs to Saban or Disney or whoever owns it now. You know
the drill. I'm still fleshing out the cast right now but rest assured,
this will take off like a rocket to the best of my abilities. Sit back and
e-mail me feedback if you want to at taliamtoh666@hotmail.com. Thanks.
Power Ranger ZEO: Season II
Episode 1
"A New Beginning" Part 1
author: Jeremy Simpson A.K.A. ZEO_SeasonII
Dear Rachel,
Are you prepared to accept your destiny? You, Rachel Flowers, are an extraordinary individual even though you may not know it. If you weren't then you would not be receiving this letter. You can choose to ignore this but I have a good feeling that you will not. If you want to change your life, please meet at the coordinates on the attached map. There should be three friends there about to embark on this journey with you. You're all in this together. it should make for one hell of a ride.
************************************************************************
Rachel wasn't you typical, everyday girl. No, she wasn't one to go with the flow of life. She always rebelled but not actively so. It was better to do it alone. She'd always been alone, why change a winning formula now? She was what some would call the "typical goth". Sure, she shopped at "Hot Topic" a lot. But does that make her a goth? She didn't believe so. Her hair was cropped to just under shoulder length and was raven-colored like most of her outfits. The tips on the end of most of the strands of hair was a bright orange but that color tended to change just about every day.
To her, she was just the typical, nineteen year old, college freshman without too much direction in her life. Growing up in a rural community in southern California didn't help much. There were no bright lights or big city when she was young. But she made a change. This was Angel Grove, California. She'd always heard reports that this place was a magnet for years for creepy, crawly space aliens to attack just for the Power Rangers to put a stop to it. It was a formula. Alien attacks, rangers defend. A new alien attacks, rangers change robots and/or costumes and defend again. Repeat as needed.
The attacks stopped six years ago or so and have since moved to other cities, surprisingly, all still in the same state. But when the attacks stopped, it came at the price of an all out war where the current ranger team at the time revealed their secret identities. Andros, Ashley, T.J., Cassie, Zhane, and Carlos. Just like any famous Hollywood celebrity, you know them when you see them. Most of them have left the planet only to return on occasion. They still fight whatever evil they can find. With so many ranger teams appearing every year or so, there isn't a lot to do and they tend to stick to the rule of not interfering with other teams. Of course, this could all be wrong. That's just what has been pieced from different websites and it's not a good bet to assume that everything there is the God-given truth.
Rachel pulls the fabric up on her fishnet leggings as she waits patiently by the door. As the bus pulls to a grinding stop, she slumps forward into the seat. It takes a moment for the girl to regain her bearings but once she does she stands and exits the vehicle alone.
"The desert. Wonderful," she muses to no one in particular. "I don't even know why I'm out here. I've got to walk about three miles now into the middle of nowhere. And why? Because of some stupid e-mail? This had better be worth it."
She continues to grumble to herself. No one else got that message. It was just some stupid prank and since I have nothing better to do, I actually follow up on it. Lord, no one is as dumb as I am."
"Hello! Are you here for the same reason that I am?"
The man was cupping his hands to his mouth and yelling at her. The wind brushed his dark blue shirt to the side.
"That depends. Are you as stupid as I am?"
Kristina laughed at her own reply as she put her hands down. No one was as impulsive as her. Back in high school everyone thought she was just a bubbly, ditzy cheerleader to everyone because she had a tendency to laugh a lot for no reason. That wasn't the truth at all. She was actually quite smart with a good head on her shoulders. Not that it ever really mattered to anyone else. This guy will probably just want to sleep with me anyway.
"Well, my name's Bryan and I'm here because of an e-mail. I assume the same for you?"
"Definitely," she replied. "I guess we both really are gullible. By the way, my name's Kristina."
By now the two have met up with each other halfway in between the expansion of sand and rocky terrain that stood between them. They shake hands with each other as she brushed the long, brunette hair out of her face, the yellow sweater and gray slacks that she has on ruffle briefly.
"Well, Kristina, it's nice to meet you. I guess we should go check out whatever spot it is we're supposed to be at. It should be about another mile that way, right?"
"I think so," she replied as he gestured north. "Let's go."
The couple continued their journey, asking questions along the way trying to find out what common thread could be the reason why they both were asked to meet her.
"What do you do Bryan? Tell me about yourself."
"Um, let's see, well I'm originally from Stone Canyon. My father passed away at a very young age so I've had to be the man of the family along with my brother, Andrew, who's a year younger than I am. We watched over my mother and four younger sisters. She's since moved to North Carolina with the girls and Andrew and right now I work at a tool & die factory. How about you?"
She looks down at her feet for a moment while she pauses. He speaks of the fact that his father has died so easily. When my dad passed away I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't eat or sleep for months. How did he deal with-
He interrupts her train of thought. "Kris, are you okay?"
"Huh?" She snaps out of her trance. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. You want to her about me. Okay, I was a cheerleader back in high school at Angel Grove. I had a 4.0 grade point average and graduated at the top of my class. I was the best student at the school since the Blue Power Ranger, Billy Cranston. But, well, it's not like anyone actually notices that fact."
"What do you mean?" he inquires.
"Everyone knows that I'm a smart girl. But it just seems that they always look past that. They see my big chest in my cheer outfit with a pretty face and they forget that I'm intelligent. All the guys just wanted to get in my pants."
"Did you every have a boyfriend?"
"What's your definition of a boyfriend? If your bare bones definition is guy that takes me out on dates, who genuinely loves and cares for me, then none. I've never been with a man who cared about me, who held me close when I was sad. a guy who would gently kiss me softly and make me feel safe. No. None of those. But I've slept with a dozen guys who said they loved me but in reality they tossed me aside once they were done. I was a mountain for them to conquer. Nothing more."
She again looks down sheepishly. Maybe I said too much. Bryan's a nice guy and here I am, giving him my very soul only minutes after meeting him.
"I. I. was stupid. I was just a foolish little child who wanted to be loved. Is that so wrong?
"No Kris."
He stops and grabs her by the shoulders as he pulls her in closer. His eyes meet hers. She stares back at the big brown saucers and feels safe. This total stranger is holding her but yet it's so comfortable and it feels so normal, so. right.
"Kris, I don't know you very well. But from what I do know, from what I can see, you are a good person deep down inside. No matter what has happened, you have to be strong now. You've got an entire life ahead of you. And I know that when the time is right, you'll know who the right guy is. He'll hold you and make you feel like the center of the world. Nothing else will matter as far as he's concerned, except for you. It'll happen to you. I promise."
A tear wells up in Kristina's eye. She knows it true. Every word that has come out of his mouth is the truth and that's what comforts her.
"Now, what do you say we go find out exactly what we're doing here?
"Sure Bryan. And Bryan. Thank you."
"No problem."
With that, the couple head out into the distance completely unaware that the biggest challenge that either one of them could ever possibly face is about to befall them.
To be continued.
Power Ranger ZEO: Season II
Episode 1
"A New Beginning" Part 1
author: Jeremy Simpson A.K.A. ZEO_SeasonII
Dear Rachel,
Are you prepared to accept your destiny? You, Rachel Flowers, are an extraordinary individual even though you may not know it. If you weren't then you would not be receiving this letter. You can choose to ignore this but I have a good feeling that you will not. If you want to change your life, please meet at the coordinates on the attached map. There should be three friends there about to embark on this journey with you. You're all in this together. it should make for one hell of a ride.
************************************************************************
Rachel wasn't you typical, everyday girl. No, she wasn't one to go with the flow of life. She always rebelled but not actively so. It was better to do it alone. She'd always been alone, why change a winning formula now? She was what some would call the "typical goth". Sure, she shopped at "Hot Topic" a lot. But does that make her a goth? She didn't believe so. Her hair was cropped to just under shoulder length and was raven-colored like most of her outfits. The tips on the end of most of the strands of hair was a bright orange but that color tended to change just about every day.
To her, she was just the typical, nineteen year old, college freshman without too much direction in her life. Growing up in a rural community in southern California didn't help much. There were no bright lights or big city when she was young. But she made a change. This was Angel Grove, California. She'd always heard reports that this place was a magnet for years for creepy, crawly space aliens to attack just for the Power Rangers to put a stop to it. It was a formula. Alien attacks, rangers defend. A new alien attacks, rangers change robots and/or costumes and defend again. Repeat as needed.
The attacks stopped six years ago or so and have since moved to other cities, surprisingly, all still in the same state. But when the attacks stopped, it came at the price of an all out war where the current ranger team at the time revealed their secret identities. Andros, Ashley, T.J., Cassie, Zhane, and Carlos. Just like any famous Hollywood celebrity, you know them when you see them. Most of them have left the planet only to return on occasion. They still fight whatever evil they can find. With so many ranger teams appearing every year or so, there isn't a lot to do and they tend to stick to the rule of not interfering with other teams. Of course, this could all be wrong. That's just what has been pieced from different websites and it's not a good bet to assume that everything there is the God-given truth.
Rachel pulls the fabric up on her fishnet leggings as she waits patiently by the door. As the bus pulls to a grinding stop, she slumps forward into the seat. It takes a moment for the girl to regain her bearings but once she does she stands and exits the vehicle alone.
"The desert. Wonderful," she muses to no one in particular. "I don't even know why I'm out here. I've got to walk about three miles now into the middle of nowhere. And why? Because of some stupid e-mail? This had better be worth it."
She continues to grumble to herself. No one else got that message. It was just some stupid prank and since I have nothing better to do, I actually follow up on it. Lord, no one is as dumb as I am."
"Hello! Are you here for the same reason that I am?"
The man was cupping his hands to his mouth and yelling at her. The wind brushed his dark blue shirt to the side.
"That depends. Are you as stupid as I am?"
Kristina laughed at her own reply as she put her hands down. No one was as impulsive as her. Back in high school everyone thought she was just a bubbly, ditzy cheerleader to everyone because she had a tendency to laugh a lot for no reason. That wasn't the truth at all. She was actually quite smart with a good head on her shoulders. Not that it ever really mattered to anyone else. This guy will probably just want to sleep with me anyway.
"Well, my name's Bryan and I'm here because of an e-mail. I assume the same for you?"
"Definitely," she replied. "I guess we both really are gullible. By the way, my name's Kristina."
By now the two have met up with each other halfway in between the expansion of sand and rocky terrain that stood between them. They shake hands with each other as she brushed the long, brunette hair out of her face, the yellow sweater and gray slacks that she has on ruffle briefly.
"Well, Kristina, it's nice to meet you. I guess we should go check out whatever spot it is we're supposed to be at. It should be about another mile that way, right?"
"I think so," she replied as he gestured north. "Let's go."
The couple continued their journey, asking questions along the way trying to find out what common thread could be the reason why they both were asked to meet her.
"What do you do Bryan? Tell me about yourself."
"Um, let's see, well I'm originally from Stone Canyon. My father passed away at a very young age so I've had to be the man of the family along with my brother, Andrew, who's a year younger than I am. We watched over my mother and four younger sisters. She's since moved to North Carolina with the girls and Andrew and right now I work at a tool & die factory. How about you?"
She looks down at her feet for a moment while she pauses. He speaks of the fact that his father has died so easily. When my dad passed away I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't eat or sleep for months. How did he deal with-
He interrupts her train of thought. "Kris, are you okay?"
"Huh?" She snaps out of her trance. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. You want to her about me. Okay, I was a cheerleader back in high school at Angel Grove. I had a 4.0 grade point average and graduated at the top of my class. I was the best student at the school since the Blue Power Ranger, Billy Cranston. But, well, it's not like anyone actually notices that fact."
"What do you mean?" he inquires.
"Everyone knows that I'm a smart girl. But it just seems that they always look past that. They see my big chest in my cheer outfit with a pretty face and they forget that I'm intelligent. All the guys just wanted to get in my pants."
"Did you every have a boyfriend?"
"What's your definition of a boyfriend? If your bare bones definition is guy that takes me out on dates, who genuinely loves and cares for me, then none. I've never been with a man who cared about me, who held me close when I was sad. a guy who would gently kiss me softly and make me feel safe. No. None of those. But I've slept with a dozen guys who said they loved me but in reality they tossed me aside once they were done. I was a mountain for them to conquer. Nothing more."
She again looks down sheepishly. Maybe I said too much. Bryan's a nice guy and here I am, giving him my very soul only minutes after meeting him.
"I. I. was stupid. I was just a foolish little child who wanted to be loved. Is that so wrong?
"No Kris."
He stops and grabs her by the shoulders as he pulls her in closer. His eyes meet hers. She stares back at the big brown saucers and feels safe. This total stranger is holding her but yet it's so comfortable and it feels so normal, so. right.
"Kris, I don't know you very well. But from what I do know, from what I can see, you are a good person deep down inside. No matter what has happened, you have to be strong now. You've got an entire life ahead of you. And I know that when the time is right, you'll know who the right guy is. He'll hold you and make you feel like the center of the world. Nothing else will matter as far as he's concerned, except for you. It'll happen to you. I promise."
A tear wells up in Kristina's eye. She knows it true. Every word that has come out of his mouth is the truth and that's what comforts her.
"Now, what do you say we go find out exactly what we're doing here?
"Sure Bryan. And Bryan. Thank you."
"No problem."
With that, the couple head out into the distance completely unaware that the biggest challenge that either one of them could ever possibly face is about to befall them.
To be continued.