AN: And here we go with story 2 in the continuing tale of The Ultra Crystals. It's probably a good thing if you've read the original story before diving into this one…but you get the cliff notes version in this chapter. Enjoy!

Powers Unleashed

Prologue: Walking the Path

"Oh, you gotta be shitting me…"

Weihan Liang stared at the piece of paper in his hands and realised that the past two years studying his ass off had come to naught. Next to him, his girlfriend Rachelle Cole laid a comforting hand on his shoulder as she looked at the four little numbers that signified the end result of his hard work. With a sigh of frustration, he made a move to crumple the paper up before stopping and placing it on the table where the numbers couldn't taunt him anymore. Giving his all in studying and the HSC had given him a UAI – University Admission Index – number far below what he hoped.

46.95

His friends had poured countless hours of studying time with him and had managed to raise his grades from the C – D average up to the high B's and low A's. The fact that he had dropped Math for Drama and dropped Ancient History altogether had ensured he would have enough free time for studies and his mother had enrolled him into the after-school study group…and this was the result that had been given to him by the Higher Ups. Ever the optimist, his mother had informed him that he could still study tertiary education in TAFE or at an independent school but he had no idea what to do.

"C'mon; it's not that bad. Apparently, Dragan only managed a score in the high twenties."

"Says the girl that got in the mid-seventies…yeah, you're right though. Ah, if only the Board of Studies knew what we went through two years ago. We'd be superstars for sure."

She giggled and leant in close to him, pecking him on the cheek.

"Yes, because everyone knows the Ultra Rangers were high school students."

He chuckled back and leant back on his bed and summoned a lightning-bolt shaped orange crystal to his hands in a flash of light. He and Rachelle, along with ten others, were the Ultra Rangers that had defended Sydney from the monsters and menace of the Space Warlord Xonix. Everything from giant ogres to interplanetary travel, even Interdimensional travel, had been thrown at them and had finally come to a head in the early months of 2010. Xonix had awoken from a self-inflicted Power Coma and had forged an incredibly shaky alliance with the opponent of the Wild Force Rangers: Master Org. With the help of some spells and things that had been set into motion months in advance, Xonix had come to Sydney and unleashed a literal flood of monsters, both old and new, onto the unsuspecting populace. The intention had been to catch the Rangers off guard and cause as much chaos, devastation and death in the hours before the Rangers got their act together.

However, that wasn't to be the case. In a move the Overlord could never have predicted, the Ultra Rangers were already gathered in one place – to see off Weihan's then-girlfriend Jacqui "AJ" Apple. The two lovers had been forced to split up then and there and, apart from the odd appearance on TV, it had seemed like she had dropped off the face of the Earth. The only people who saw her regularly were Rocky and Adam, the Green and Blue Zeo Rangers, and they would talk about how she was and the progress of her little sister, Bree. The Ultra Rangers had seen the beginning of the monster assault and had acted instantly; gathering up all Rangers around the world to fend off the threat. For the Rangers whose Powers had been either drained or destroyed, Weihan had used the combined Ultra Crystal to temporarily recharge their powers, even though there was a very slight chance doing so could permanently repower them.

The Ranger Army had counter-attacked and it was a miracle Sydney and the surrounding suburbs were still standing. North Sydney had been the focus of a recreated Cyclopsis; Balmain had been caught in the maelstrom of Dragontron; Mascot had been peppered by blasts from a cloned Red Psycho Ranger; Double Bay had seen the monster-Trakeena up close and the civilians caught in the CBD had been up to their necks in monsters. Everything had culminated in a knock-down and drag-out fight against Xonix and his top warrior Jabarkas in the Botanical Gardens. Xonix had, to the surprise of everyone, siphoned off some of the power of the Power Rangers and fused with Jabarkas to create Xonkas, a being that had done what no other villain had done – destroy the Ultra Crystals. After some determined words and a reaffirmation of their bonds as friends, the Ultra Crystals had reformed and become stronger than ever…yet it still wasn't enough to defeat Xonkas.

At the very last second, the departed mentor of the Power Rangers had come to Weihan and shown him the future in an attempt to give the young man hope. It had also been the catalyst for the abandoned planet of Chysannas to grant one last gift to the Orange Ranger before the planet broke apart – the Tri-Spino Dragon Battlizer. Using the mighty power inherent in the Armour, Weihan had defeated Xonkas and the Rangers had returned to their normal lives…except Xonix was still out there somewhere. The Orange Ranger was adamant about that particular fact and had spent most of his non-study time scouring the Universe for leads. One such lead had taken him to an innocent-looking magic shop in the outskirts of Briarwood, where he had made a rather unsettling discovery. Lord Zedd, brother of Xonix, had survived the Z-Wave and was eking out a rather humble life under the name Edward. If that had been a shock then finding out that Scorpina, Finster, Goldar and even Rita were still alive…well, he hadn't remembered much and had woken up under the watchful, yet strangely caring, eye of Scorpina.

Pushing away those thoughts, his mind returned to the conundrum at hand. With a UAI that low, the only courses at University he would be likely to attend were probably bee-keeping, bricklaying or tapestry weaving. Biting back a frustrated groan, he pulled Rachelle towards him when an image from his future flash swam to the forefront of his mind. He was walking into an office building in North Sydney that housed a Hotel Management School. The name flashed up in his mind and he stifled another groan. William Blue International Hotel Management School…that was the full name and he made a promise to do whatever it took for him to begin early next year.

Whatever was going to happen…that was where he needed to be.

TBC…

AN2: And yes, that was my UAI...