Morning Light Series
By: Mandy K., Jose L., and Starfire
Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Saban, anything else out of the ordinary belongs to us. If any confusion results please contact us before you decide to flame us. Any ideas contained within this series belong to us. If you wish to use it please contact and ask us we are more than likely to say yes we are nice people. Just don't steal. Stealing isn't nice. We are not profiting off of this in any way so please don't sue us we are just writing it for fun and we have no money anyways. This is one of the things that makes us happy or sad depending on our moods. ^_^ Also any diary entries found here are based on entries found in diary pieces displayed at the NY Museum of Jewish Heritage. Remember it is based on so it is not exact but the disclaimer applies here too.
Second Disclaimer: Things seen here may slightly reflect a children's novel based on the holocaust called The Devil's Arithmetic the author is unknown at this time. We are just putting this one here in case although we the authors feel that this story has no similarities we are just being cautious.
Authors' Notes: PLEASE READ IMPORTANT. This story contains situations that may make people feel uncomfortable. It deals with the holocaust in a mild way so it is suitable for everyone, but at the same time shows how harsh it was for people back in those times. We aren't here to bash anyone we are just writing what our hearts tell us too. Once again we are not like James Cameron we make no profit off of what we do.
Note to Jose and Starfire from Mandy: Guys thank you for taking on this story with me. Without the 2 of you this story may never have been written. Thanks for taking the plunge with me. Now onto part one.
Part One: Yellow Secrets
In the house of the Hammonds, a respected family in the community of Angel Grove a girl was upstairs in the attic when there was a large BOOM!!
"Oh curse it!!" a girl with dirty blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail yelped out in pain as she hopped around on one foot. "I HATE SPRING CLEANING" her voice was heard in parts of the attic. Blowing the dust that was in her face and rubbing her toe trying to rid it of the agony that the chest that had fallen on it caused. The chest was tipped over and open so the curious yellow turbo ranger peaked inside. To her surprise she saw a whole bunch of things old books, pictures and clothing as well as other various items. She picked through the items curiously ignoring her painful toe. She pulled out a dress that was beaded in yellow and gold with a sexy sash at the side of one arm.
"Wow this is neat stuff," she said to out loud to herself. She grinned as she dug in to pull out more things. She found a diary among the books and said to no on in particular again " I wonder who the owner of this stuff is" She blew on the diary and opened it. An old black and white picture with faded edges fell out. She picked up the picture and stared at it. Her hands started to tremble and she felt a shiver of coldness crawl up and down her body like a hundred spiders on her.
The yellow ranger started reading through the book at a quick pace. Skimming through the pages she felt as though she was going to faint. Her hands quickly went up to grab the cross encircling her neck when she realized what it was. She looked at the page she had stopped on. The date was faded from age as the picture was but the date clearly said 1939.
" The guards in our ghetto have been harsh to us. First they work us all day and then give almost nothing to eat. All the time they are changing our ration cards to give us less and less. They make us work from sun up to sun down. Most of us are getting very thin, and some of us are even getting ill from lack of food. I am starting to look sickly as well. How much worse can it get? We give the children much of our scraps since they need it to grow. Us grown-ups even though we are hungry can survive on less without complaint. We have seen what these guards do to people who complain."
Ashley flipped through some more pages and found a date that was clear it was marked Nov. 15 1939.
" We have been on this freight train for almost 3 days now but who can be sure. It is so dark in here there is barely enough light for me to write this. It was so crowded when we started our journey but the very young children, the elderly and the ones who could no longer stand were crushed to death. When we stop the guards open the door and order us to throw out the dead. We still have a pressing problem of no food and water. We use the snow and icicles to try and squelch our hunger. At least it takes care of our water needs. I am thankful that I have lived this long. Though I no longer wish to live. I have found out through other people that my husband has been killed. We were separated at the beginning of this ordeal since he was in the next car over. Hopefully this horrible time will end soon. The train is pulling up to its final stop. I just saw a sign that says "work makes you free" We are in Auschwitz. I hope the horrible stories we have heard about this place is not true."
Ashley had tears in her eyes but decided to flip one more time. She felt compelled to read on no matter how much her heart ached. The date read Jan. 1, 1940
" I am surprised that I have lived this long all of my friends are dead. I have new bunkmates almost daily. I fear for my life for I hear we are being taken to the disinfecting chambers as we had done when we first arrived. I am scared of the rumors that people are being gassed. No matter how I feel I must go. For if I do not it will surely mean death."
* * *
Ashley was crying now the tears came faster and the questions remaining were how and why did they have this diary? Ashley took a deep breath and ran downstairs to the kitchen.
"MOM, DAD!!" she screamed as she did so. Dust from the attic fell out of her hair as she ran. Mr. Hammond looked up from what he was doing.
"Yes kitten what is it?" he asked puzzled by his daughter's sudden out burst. Ashley put the diary and the picture she had found down in front of him. The blood drained out of his face as he went to sit down in his favorite chair in the living room. Ashley followed close behind holding what had just made her father look like a ghost.
" What is it hon?" asked Mrs. Hammond coming out of the basement and into the room they were in. She stopped walking in shock when she saw the book that her child was holding.
The yellow ranger narrowed her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" her voice just as cold and calculating as the evil that she faced almost daily. Mrs. Hammond held out her hands in a begging gesture
"Ashley honey please we...we..."her mother said almost ready to cry.
"YOU WHAT??" Ashley screamed as she stormed around the area and snapped her head of dirty blonde hair to look at them. "You didn't want to tell me this secret of yours??"
Mr. Hammond looked at his sweet kitten that was now showing her claws in his site. " Kitten please understand that we did it for your own protection."
"Understand! UNDERSTAND!!!" Ashley said as her voice rose to a hysterical screech as she looked at her parents. "UNDERSTAND WHAT?!?" she screamed as she felt a rush of adrenaline that she only thought possible while she was morphed.
Her parents looked worriedly at each other then back to their daughter "Understand that you are our only child and we had to protect you." Her mother said with pleading eyes for understanding and forgiveness. Ashley walked straight over to her mother and stared into her eyes.
"All my life you wanted me to understand, respect and worship my heritage but how can I do that when it all hasn't been true??" Ashley asked tearfully.
Mrs. Hammond took her daughters hand in her own and said " It had to be this way. You might have been outcast and rejected otherwise."
"Damn it mother I am from a Jewish family at least my ancestors were." Ashley said more confused than before. I live my life believing in the Catholic faith my faith. But in truth I find out that I am from a Jewish family." Ashley backed away from her parents in pain and confusion at why they would keep this from her. "How could you hide this from me?" She asked hoarsely.
Mr. Hammond glanced at his daughter shamefully "It was my fault kitten. Don't blame your mother.... I made her convert. I pressured her to do so because I was afraid to tell my parents about the difference..."
"No James." Ashley's mother said to her husband lovingly as she interrupted them. " I knew that your parents would never have let us wed if they knew I was Jewish. I had to make the change and I would do it again." She looked up to see her daughter stare in bewilderment at her.
"Mother?" Ashley asked uncertainly.
"WE have to tell her Katie." Said Mr. Hammond who now sighed and glanced at his daughter. "I was born into a traditional Catholic family."
"So what does that have to do with anything?" Ashley said in anger. Next he'll be telling me that our dog was born in galactica. She thought sarcastically.
Katie groaned at the situation before her family now and had to say something. " Traditional Catholic families only want their children to marry other Catholics no outsiders..." Ashley then cut off Mrs. Hammond.
"SO WHAT YOU GAVE UP YOUR FAITH!!!" fuming with anger Ashley stared at her mother. "It was part of you how could you give up your faith and convert? Some religious person you were." She blurted out as the anger started taking control of her for a change.
Mr. Hammond stood up in anger. "NOW YOU LISTEN UP ASHLEY HAMMOND AND STOP BEING A SPOILED BRAT!!" He felt shock after speaking those words. He had never had to be stern or forceful with his daughter before.
Tears of anger were running down her face but she remained silent. She sat down filled with the anger and new hurt that her father had just introduced. How can this be happening to me? Okay Ash time to wake up. This has to be a bad dream...Ashley thought in sadness as her hand went up to her cross around her neck. James growled like a pit bull as his temper and blood pressure going up.
"Okay I was a coward. I was afraid to tell your grandparents that your mother was Jewish." He admitted. Ashley folded her arms over her chest while fresh tears made their way to the surface.
" I did tell my mother and after I told them I was converting they all disowned me." Katie admitted to her daughter with old hurt in her voice.
" I was the cause for you never getting to know that side of your family Ashley. I didn't want to loose my family. I had no job or money at the time." Her father added. "Your mother was the one supporting us at that time."
"It wasn't your fault James." Katie said as she enfolded her husband in her arms.
James shook his head. "No it was my fault. I was 21 at the time. No license, no degree and no job. I was as poor as could be."
" I was working 12 hours straight a day. All I had left of my family and old life was that diary." Her mother said " Your father and I met in high school and it was love at first sight." Her father picked up the story in almost perfect sync. As her mother went to get some tea to try to loosen up a little from the tense few minutes they had just had.
" I was lost back then. I really didn't know what to do. Not to mention that I needed some eye surgery. It was too expensive and the darn HMO's even then didn't want to give money for things. My parents supported me as long as they could. When I even hinted of wanting to marry a Jewish girl they threatened to take away everything. Leaving me without a thing." Mrs. Hammond came back with the tea and picked up the story again so her husband could calm himself.
" He was desperate. We had one major reason besides being in love that we wanted to be married."
"And what was that?" Ashley asked a bit afraid of the answer. James looked down then to his wife who gave him loving support to answer their little girl's question.
"Your mother was pregnant." He finally answered.
"What?" Ashley managed to squeak out.
" We were going to have a baby honey and that baby was you." Her mother said.
"Now do you understand why we couldn't tell my parents kitten? I loved your mother and didn't want to leave her for anything religious or otherwise. I begged your mother to convert so we could be married before you were born. I screwed up everything and hurt many people including your mother." James finished stoically not wanting to cry in front of his daughter.
"So you got married because of me?" Ashley asked almost in disbelief.
"We got married because we loved each other also because we couldn't live with my parents and living together with out being married wasn't done then. My parents thank goodness helped us out." Her father said.
"How? What kind of help" Ashley asked curiously.
"Well he helped me get a job. It was enough for me to be able not only to support your mother and myself but you as well." He said.
"Oh." Ashley now said ashamed that she even asked such a question.
"It was hardest on your mother though. She gave up everything for love and she stayed with me even though I was being a real jackass." He said.
"It's true I gave him many chances to run away before we were married. Thankfully he never did though." Mrs. Hammond said making her husband blush.
"Yep. She gave me every reason to leave but I stayed only for one. Because I loved her and still do." He said lovingly to his wife.
Ashley looked like she was in awe of the situation and then said "So let me get all of this straight...Mom is Jewish but Grandma and Grandpa don't know about it?" She asked as if to confirm.
"That's about the size of it." Her father replied.
"Then whose diary is this?" Ashley asked anger starting to return for the original secret being hidden.
"The book belonged to a woman named Ezra Jacobs. One of your Jewish ancestors. She was a very intelligent woman." Ashley's mother said as she pulled out the locket that she wore around her own neck. When she opened it and showed the picture inside it to Ashley she gasped.
"She looks like me." Ashley said in almost a whisper, not believing her eyes.
"Yes she does." Katie answered grimly.
"What happened to her? Where is she?" Ashley said wondering what this woman has done with her life.
" She died in one of the camps. She was sent to the gas. The picture of the woman in the book was her best friend. Who survived the horrid ordeal and sent this book to my grandmother when your grandmother was a teenager. It had an explanation and everything." Her mother said with a fresh tear threatening to trickle down.
"What? Why? " Ashley said in disbelief.
"What are they teaching you kids in school?" James asked but answered his daughter anyway. " Well I'll give you the facts Ashley. Germany was blamed for World War I and had to make restitutions. They were in a depression that was worse than America's ever was. They needed someone to blame. A man named Hitler blamed the Jewish people for all of Germany's problems. He stereotyped them. The killings of Jewish people went from 1933 to 1945 when the allies came in and liberated them. 6 million Jewish people died. And there were even some other groups that were killed as well such as the Gypsies and anyone who didn't agree with them. They put the Jewish people into concentration camps where they tortured them, worked and beat them to death. Even worse than that which I can't mention." Her father answered with venom for the people who could actually treat others that way.
* * *
Ashley couldn't take it anymore it was all too much for her. She needed time alone. "I have to get out of here for a while. I need to think about all of this. I need time." She said in a fluster and ran out of the front door slamming it behind her. She ran down the block towards the park where she knew the other rangers were. She needed someone to talk to. The tears were still blinding her. She reached the park and headed to the basketball court where she knew they would be. She heard shouts from her friends who were in a friendly game. TJ saw Ashley approach first.
"Ashley? I thought you were spring cleaning." He said surprised to see her.
" Ash what is it?" Cassie asked seeing her friend's tearstained face.
"Guys I need your help." Was all she said.
A half-hour later she had told them everything from finding the diary to when she left the house.
" Wow that's some story Ashley" Carlos said.
" Yeah you mean to tell me that this Ezra looked just like you?" Justin asked. Ashley just nodded. Cassie was hugging her friend to give her some comfort.
" I just can't believe it was all a lie." Ashley said.
* * *
Meanwhile the rangers didn't realize that this whole time that a Periscope was looking at them. Divatox was smiling widely
"Finally something to work with. Porto get my cousin Rita Repulsa on the the phone now!!" She demanded. "Hi Rita it's Di." She said as sweetly as possible. Which of course was hard for her.
" What do you want now Divatox I told you the rangers are your problem now." Rita said quite annoyed to be woken from her beauty sleep.
" What if I told you I could do away with the yellow ranger with your help? A small potion that will put her to sleep and in a dream state send her back in time to Nazi Germany. Seems Ashley had an Ancestor who died in the camps." Divatox said giddy as anything. "And if you do help and it works I'll help you get the old rangers so you can have your way with them." She added to sweeten the deal.
"Okay you will receive this serum of yours in a few minutes. Bye Divatox" Rita said hanging up the line. "Zeddy we are going to have some fun. WE are going to be able to not only defeat the yellow ranger but get Divatox out of here as well."
"What are you babbling about Rita? Remember the Darkness is on her side." Zedd said infuriated to be woken from his sleep.
"Yes but not if WE get rid of the rangers first. Then the earth will be ours. But first we teleport this to Divatox." They both cackled horrendously.
Divatox received what she asked for and was now ready to implement her plans. Rygog send some Piranatrons to distract those rangers now!!!" She screamed.
* * *
Back at the park, the Rangers were doing their best to comfort Ashley when the familiar splashing sound that signals the arrival of the Piranatrons interrupted their efforts.
"This is exactly what I don't need right now." Ashley stated in a flat tone as she slowly dropped into a defensive stance next to her teammates.
"You sure you're up to this Ash?" Cassie inquired.
"Yeah, I'll be okay." Ashley replied.
The Piranatrons all spread out and attempted to surround the Rangers. They moved slowly as if biding their time before they attacked.
"They're acting strange. What are they up to?" T.J. thought to himself but he quickly dismissed the thought. "Spread out guys!" he ordered.
The Rangers quickly responded. Which was good because, as soon as they did, the Piranatrons began to attack.
* * *
"Porto!" Divatox screeched. "Have we received the serum from Rita yet?" Divatox as usual was not happy. Her Piranatrons were once again putting up a pathetic fight and the Rangers, although inexperienced, were dispatching them almost effortlessly.
"Yes my queen," the pudgy scientist responded. "And I've selected the perfect monster to administer it. I present to you, Needle Nose!"
A large bird-like creature with jet-black features and razor sharp talons appeared before Divatox. True to its namesake its most prominent feature was a long, sharp looking, needle-like nose.
"Needle Nose uses his nose as a lethal projectile." Porto explained. "I've already coated his nose with the serum. Now all he has to do is puncture the skin of the yellow ranger and the serum will run its course."
"Well don't just stand there go, go, go!" Divatox commanded.
* * *
Things were going good for the Rangers. They were winning despite the fact that the Piranatrons had spread them rather far apart from each other. Ashley managed to channel her feelings into her fight and was projecting her frustration onto the Piranatrons. She ducked under a blow and countered with a vicious roundhouse kick to the head.
"That'll teach you to mess with me at a time like this." Ashley stated coldly. She smirked when she heard a Piranatron trying to sneak up behind her. She turned but instead of a Piranatron she found herself face to face with a monster. She barely had a chance to cry out before a sharp, burning pain caused her to black out. The Piranatrons retreated now that their mission was complete.
"Everyone okay?" TJ asked as the Rangers regrouped.
"I'm okay." Justin called out.
"Me too." replied Carlos.
"Same here." said Cassie.
"Where's Ashley?" TJ inquired. The Rangers looked around, finally spotting Ashley's unconscious body.
"Ash? Ashley wake up. C'mon wake up!" Cassie cried out as she held Ashley's body close to hers.
"We have to get her to the Power Chamber, now!" Justin exclaimed and activated his communicator. "Alpha prepare a med bed for Ashley and get ready for an emergency teleport."
"Yo, yo, yo. You got it Justin. Initiating emergency teleport." Alpha replied as Ashley shimmered away.
"Alright guys, we'd better get going too." said TJ.
"Right." the others replied. The four remaining Rangers made sure the coast was clear and teleported back to their base.
* * *
By: Mandy K., Jose L., and Starfire
Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Saban, anything else out of the ordinary belongs to us. If any confusion results please contact us before you decide to flame us. Any ideas contained within this series belong to us. If you wish to use it please contact and ask us we are more than likely to say yes we are nice people. Just don't steal. Stealing isn't nice. We are not profiting off of this in any way so please don't sue us we are just writing it for fun and we have no money anyways. This is one of the things that makes us happy or sad depending on our moods. ^_^ Also any diary entries found here are based on entries found in diary pieces displayed at the NY Museum of Jewish Heritage. Remember it is based on so it is not exact but the disclaimer applies here too.
Second Disclaimer: Things seen here may slightly reflect a children's novel based on the holocaust called The Devil's Arithmetic the author is unknown at this time. We are just putting this one here in case although we the authors feel that this story has no similarities we are just being cautious.
Authors' Notes: PLEASE READ IMPORTANT. This story contains situations that may make people feel uncomfortable. It deals with the holocaust in a mild way so it is suitable for everyone, but at the same time shows how harsh it was for people back in those times. We aren't here to bash anyone we are just writing what our hearts tell us too. Once again we are not like James Cameron we make no profit off of what we do.
Note to Jose and Starfire from Mandy: Guys thank you for taking on this story with me. Without the 2 of you this story may never have been written. Thanks for taking the plunge with me. Now onto part one.
Part One: Yellow Secrets
In the house of the Hammonds, a respected family in the community of Angel Grove a girl was upstairs in the attic when there was a large BOOM!!
"Oh curse it!!" a girl with dirty blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail yelped out in pain as she hopped around on one foot. "I HATE SPRING CLEANING" her voice was heard in parts of the attic. Blowing the dust that was in her face and rubbing her toe trying to rid it of the agony that the chest that had fallen on it caused. The chest was tipped over and open so the curious yellow turbo ranger peaked inside. To her surprise she saw a whole bunch of things old books, pictures and clothing as well as other various items. She picked through the items curiously ignoring her painful toe. She pulled out a dress that was beaded in yellow and gold with a sexy sash at the side of one arm.
"Wow this is neat stuff," she said to out loud to herself. She grinned as she dug in to pull out more things. She found a diary among the books and said to no on in particular again " I wonder who the owner of this stuff is" She blew on the diary and opened it. An old black and white picture with faded edges fell out. She picked up the picture and stared at it. Her hands started to tremble and she felt a shiver of coldness crawl up and down her body like a hundred spiders on her.
The yellow ranger started reading through the book at a quick pace. Skimming through the pages she felt as though she was going to faint. Her hands quickly went up to grab the cross encircling her neck when she realized what it was. She looked at the page she had stopped on. The date was faded from age as the picture was but the date clearly said 1939.
" The guards in our ghetto have been harsh to us. First they work us all day and then give almost nothing to eat. All the time they are changing our ration cards to give us less and less. They make us work from sun up to sun down. Most of us are getting very thin, and some of us are even getting ill from lack of food. I am starting to look sickly as well. How much worse can it get? We give the children much of our scraps since they need it to grow. Us grown-ups even though we are hungry can survive on less without complaint. We have seen what these guards do to people who complain."
Ashley flipped through some more pages and found a date that was clear it was marked Nov. 15 1939.
" We have been on this freight train for almost 3 days now but who can be sure. It is so dark in here there is barely enough light for me to write this. It was so crowded when we started our journey but the very young children, the elderly and the ones who could no longer stand were crushed to death. When we stop the guards open the door and order us to throw out the dead. We still have a pressing problem of no food and water. We use the snow and icicles to try and squelch our hunger. At least it takes care of our water needs. I am thankful that I have lived this long. Though I no longer wish to live. I have found out through other people that my husband has been killed. We were separated at the beginning of this ordeal since he was in the next car over. Hopefully this horrible time will end soon. The train is pulling up to its final stop. I just saw a sign that says "work makes you free" We are in Auschwitz. I hope the horrible stories we have heard about this place is not true."
Ashley had tears in her eyes but decided to flip one more time. She felt compelled to read on no matter how much her heart ached. The date read Jan. 1, 1940
" I am surprised that I have lived this long all of my friends are dead. I have new bunkmates almost daily. I fear for my life for I hear we are being taken to the disinfecting chambers as we had done when we first arrived. I am scared of the rumors that people are being gassed. No matter how I feel I must go. For if I do not it will surely mean death."
* * *
Ashley was crying now the tears came faster and the questions remaining were how and why did they have this diary? Ashley took a deep breath and ran downstairs to the kitchen.
"MOM, DAD!!" she screamed as she did so. Dust from the attic fell out of her hair as she ran. Mr. Hammond looked up from what he was doing.
"Yes kitten what is it?" he asked puzzled by his daughter's sudden out burst. Ashley put the diary and the picture she had found down in front of him. The blood drained out of his face as he went to sit down in his favorite chair in the living room. Ashley followed close behind holding what had just made her father look like a ghost.
" What is it hon?" asked Mrs. Hammond coming out of the basement and into the room they were in. She stopped walking in shock when she saw the book that her child was holding.
The yellow ranger narrowed her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" her voice just as cold and calculating as the evil that she faced almost daily. Mrs. Hammond held out her hands in a begging gesture
"Ashley honey please we...we..."her mother said almost ready to cry.
"YOU WHAT??" Ashley screamed as she stormed around the area and snapped her head of dirty blonde hair to look at them. "You didn't want to tell me this secret of yours??"
Mr. Hammond looked at his sweet kitten that was now showing her claws in his site. " Kitten please understand that we did it for your own protection."
"Understand! UNDERSTAND!!!" Ashley said as her voice rose to a hysterical screech as she looked at her parents. "UNDERSTAND WHAT?!?" she screamed as she felt a rush of adrenaline that she only thought possible while she was morphed.
Her parents looked worriedly at each other then back to their daughter "Understand that you are our only child and we had to protect you." Her mother said with pleading eyes for understanding and forgiveness. Ashley walked straight over to her mother and stared into her eyes.
"All my life you wanted me to understand, respect and worship my heritage but how can I do that when it all hasn't been true??" Ashley asked tearfully.
Mrs. Hammond took her daughters hand in her own and said " It had to be this way. You might have been outcast and rejected otherwise."
"Damn it mother I am from a Jewish family at least my ancestors were." Ashley said more confused than before. I live my life believing in the Catholic faith my faith. But in truth I find out that I am from a Jewish family." Ashley backed away from her parents in pain and confusion at why they would keep this from her. "How could you hide this from me?" She asked hoarsely.
Mr. Hammond glanced at his daughter shamefully "It was my fault kitten. Don't blame your mother.... I made her convert. I pressured her to do so because I was afraid to tell my parents about the difference..."
"No James." Ashley's mother said to her husband lovingly as she interrupted them. " I knew that your parents would never have let us wed if they knew I was Jewish. I had to make the change and I would do it again." She looked up to see her daughter stare in bewilderment at her.
"Mother?" Ashley asked uncertainly.
"WE have to tell her Katie." Said Mr. Hammond who now sighed and glanced at his daughter. "I was born into a traditional Catholic family."
"So what does that have to do with anything?" Ashley said in anger. Next he'll be telling me that our dog was born in galactica. She thought sarcastically.
Katie groaned at the situation before her family now and had to say something. " Traditional Catholic families only want their children to marry other Catholics no outsiders..." Ashley then cut off Mrs. Hammond.
"SO WHAT YOU GAVE UP YOUR FAITH!!!" fuming with anger Ashley stared at her mother. "It was part of you how could you give up your faith and convert? Some religious person you were." She blurted out as the anger started taking control of her for a change.
Mr. Hammond stood up in anger. "NOW YOU LISTEN UP ASHLEY HAMMOND AND STOP BEING A SPOILED BRAT!!" He felt shock after speaking those words. He had never had to be stern or forceful with his daughter before.
Tears of anger were running down her face but she remained silent. She sat down filled with the anger and new hurt that her father had just introduced. How can this be happening to me? Okay Ash time to wake up. This has to be a bad dream...Ashley thought in sadness as her hand went up to her cross around her neck. James growled like a pit bull as his temper and blood pressure going up.
"Okay I was a coward. I was afraid to tell your grandparents that your mother was Jewish." He admitted. Ashley folded her arms over her chest while fresh tears made their way to the surface.
" I did tell my mother and after I told them I was converting they all disowned me." Katie admitted to her daughter with old hurt in her voice.
" I was the cause for you never getting to know that side of your family Ashley. I didn't want to loose my family. I had no job or money at the time." Her father added. "Your mother was the one supporting us at that time."
"It wasn't your fault James." Katie said as she enfolded her husband in her arms.
James shook his head. "No it was my fault. I was 21 at the time. No license, no degree and no job. I was as poor as could be."
" I was working 12 hours straight a day. All I had left of my family and old life was that diary." Her mother said " Your father and I met in high school and it was love at first sight." Her father picked up the story in almost perfect sync. As her mother went to get some tea to try to loosen up a little from the tense few minutes they had just had.
" I was lost back then. I really didn't know what to do. Not to mention that I needed some eye surgery. It was too expensive and the darn HMO's even then didn't want to give money for things. My parents supported me as long as they could. When I even hinted of wanting to marry a Jewish girl they threatened to take away everything. Leaving me without a thing." Mrs. Hammond came back with the tea and picked up the story again so her husband could calm himself.
" He was desperate. We had one major reason besides being in love that we wanted to be married."
"And what was that?" Ashley asked a bit afraid of the answer. James looked down then to his wife who gave him loving support to answer their little girl's question.
"Your mother was pregnant." He finally answered.
"What?" Ashley managed to squeak out.
" We were going to have a baby honey and that baby was you." Her mother said.
"Now do you understand why we couldn't tell my parents kitten? I loved your mother and didn't want to leave her for anything religious or otherwise. I begged your mother to convert so we could be married before you were born. I screwed up everything and hurt many people including your mother." James finished stoically not wanting to cry in front of his daughter.
"So you got married because of me?" Ashley asked almost in disbelief.
"We got married because we loved each other also because we couldn't live with my parents and living together with out being married wasn't done then. My parents thank goodness helped us out." Her father said.
"How? What kind of help" Ashley asked curiously.
"Well he helped me get a job. It was enough for me to be able not only to support your mother and myself but you as well." He said.
"Oh." Ashley now said ashamed that she even asked such a question.
"It was hardest on your mother though. She gave up everything for love and she stayed with me even though I was being a real jackass." He said.
"It's true I gave him many chances to run away before we were married. Thankfully he never did though." Mrs. Hammond said making her husband blush.
"Yep. She gave me every reason to leave but I stayed only for one. Because I loved her and still do." He said lovingly to his wife.
Ashley looked like she was in awe of the situation and then said "So let me get all of this straight...Mom is Jewish but Grandma and Grandpa don't know about it?" She asked as if to confirm.
"That's about the size of it." Her father replied.
"Then whose diary is this?" Ashley asked anger starting to return for the original secret being hidden.
"The book belonged to a woman named Ezra Jacobs. One of your Jewish ancestors. She was a very intelligent woman." Ashley's mother said as she pulled out the locket that she wore around her own neck. When she opened it and showed the picture inside it to Ashley she gasped.
"She looks like me." Ashley said in almost a whisper, not believing her eyes.
"Yes she does." Katie answered grimly.
"What happened to her? Where is she?" Ashley said wondering what this woman has done with her life.
" She died in one of the camps. She was sent to the gas. The picture of the woman in the book was her best friend. Who survived the horrid ordeal and sent this book to my grandmother when your grandmother was a teenager. It had an explanation and everything." Her mother said with a fresh tear threatening to trickle down.
"What? Why? " Ashley said in disbelief.
"What are they teaching you kids in school?" James asked but answered his daughter anyway. " Well I'll give you the facts Ashley. Germany was blamed for World War I and had to make restitutions. They were in a depression that was worse than America's ever was. They needed someone to blame. A man named Hitler blamed the Jewish people for all of Germany's problems. He stereotyped them. The killings of Jewish people went from 1933 to 1945 when the allies came in and liberated them. 6 million Jewish people died. And there were even some other groups that were killed as well such as the Gypsies and anyone who didn't agree with them. They put the Jewish people into concentration camps where they tortured them, worked and beat them to death. Even worse than that which I can't mention." Her father answered with venom for the people who could actually treat others that way.
* * *
Ashley couldn't take it anymore it was all too much for her. She needed time alone. "I have to get out of here for a while. I need to think about all of this. I need time." She said in a fluster and ran out of the front door slamming it behind her. She ran down the block towards the park where she knew the other rangers were. She needed someone to talk to. The tears were still blinding her. She reached the park and headed to the basketball court where she knew they would be. She heard shouts from her friends who were in a friendly game. TJ saw Ashley approach first.
"Ashley? I thought you were spring cleaning." He said surprised to see her.
" Ash what is it?" Cassie asked seeing her friend's tearstained face.
"Guys I need your help." Was all she said.
A half-hour later she had told them everything from finding the diary to when she left the house.
" Wow that's some story Ashley" Carlos said.
" Yeah you mean to tell me that this Ezra looked just like you?" Justin asked. Ashley just nodded. Cassie was hugging her friend to give her some comfort.
" I just can't believe it was all a lie." Ashley said.
* * *
Meanwhile the rangers didn't realize that this whole time that a Periscope was looking at them. Divatox was smiling widely
"Finally something to work with. Porto get my cousin Rita Repulsa on the the phone now!!" She demanded. "Hi Rita it's Di." She said as sweetly as possible. Which of course was hard for her.
" What do you want now Divatox I told you the rangers are your problem now." Rita said quite annoyed to be woken from her beauty sleep.
" What if I told you I could do away with the yellow ranger with your help? A small potion that will put her to sleep and in a dream state send her back in time to Nazi Germany. Seems Ashley had an Ancestor who died in the camps." Divatox said giddy as anything. "And if you do help and it works I'll help you get the old rangers so you can have your way with them." She added to sweeten the deal.
"Okay you will receive this serum of yours in a few minutes. Bye Divatox" Rita said hanging up the line. "Zeddy we are going to have some fun. WE are going to be able to not only defeat the yellow ranger but get Divatox out of here as well."
"What are you babbling about Rita? Remember the Darkness is on her side." Zedd said infuriated to be woken from his sleep.
"Yes but not if WE get rid of the rangers first. Then the earth will be ours. But first we teleport this to Divatox." They both cackled horrendously.
Divatox received what she asked for and was now ready to implement her plans. Rygog send some Piranatrons to distract those rangers now!!!" She screamed.
* * *
Back at the park, the Rangers were doing their best to comfort Ashley when the familiar splashing sound that signals the arrival of the Piranatrons interrupted their efforts.
"This is exactly what I don't need right now." Ashley stated in a flat tone as she slowly dropped into a defensive stance next to her teammates.
"You sure you're up to this Ash?" Cassie inquired.
"Yeah, I'll be okay." Ashley replied.
The Piranatrons all spread out and attempted to surround the Rangers. They moved slowly as if biding their time before they attacked.
"They're acting strange. What are they up to?" T.J. thought to himself but he quickly dismissed the thought. "Spread out guys!" he ordered.
The Rangers quickly responded. Which was good because, as soon as they did, the Piranatrons began to attack.
* * *
"Porto!" Divatox screeched. "Have we received the serum from Rita yet?" Divatox as usual was not happy. Her Piranatrons were once again putting up a pathetic fight and the Rangers, although inexperienced, were dispatching them almost effortlessly.
"Yes my queen," the pudgy scientist responded. "And I've selected the perfect monster to administer it. I present to you, Needle Nose!"
A large bird-like creature with jet-black features and razor sharp talons appeared before Divatox. True to its namesake its most prominent feature was a long, sharp looking, needle-like nose.
"Needle Nose uses his nose as a lethal projectile." Porto explained. "I've already coated his nose with the serum. Now all he has to do is puncture the skin of the yellow ranger and the serum will run its course."
"Well don't just stand there go, go, go!" Divatox commanded.
* * *
Things were going good for the Rangers. They were winning despite the fact that the Piranatrons had spread them rather far apart from each other. Ashley managed to channel her feelings into her fight and was projecting her frustration onto the Piranatrons. She ducked under a blow and countered with a vicious roundhouse kick to the head.
"That'll teach you to mess with me at a time like this." Ashley stated coldly. She smirked when she heard a Piranatron trying to sneak up behind her. She turned but instead of a Piranatron she found herself face to face with a monster. She barely had a chance to cry out before a sharp, burning pain caused her to black out. The Piranatrons retreated now that their mission was complete.
"Everyone okay?" TJ asked as the Rangers regrouped.
"I'm okay." Justin called out.
"Me too." replied Carlos.
"Same here." said Cassie.
"Where's Ashley?" TJ inquired. The Rangers looked around, finally spotting Ashley's unconscious body.
"Ash? Ashley wake up. C'mon wake up!" Cassie cried out as she held Ashley's body close to hers.
"We have to get her to the Power Chamber, now!" Justin exclaimed and activated his communicator. "Alpha prepare a med bed for Ashley and get ready for an emergency teleport."
"Yo, yo, yo. You got it Justin. Initiating emergency teleport." Alpha replied as Ashley shimmered away.
"Alright guys, we'd better get going too." said TJ.
"Right." the others replied. The four remaining Rangers made sure the coast was clear and teleported back to their base.
* * *