A/N 1: First off, let me apologize for the confusion in regards to the posting of this chapter. There was an error in the posting process Sunday, and when I checked the chapter to make sure everything was okay, the line formats and lettering were all weird. I have no idea what happened, but hopefully it's been fixed.
A/N 2: Also, just wanted to let all of you who have been reading Oltre a Vita e Morte know that I will be taking a break on that story for a few weeks to focus on Quest. What I'm doing is backloading a bunch of chapters so that I can post updates for both stories simultaneously. Right now 5 chapters of Quest are complete and I will start working on Oltre again in a week or two.
A/N 3: Finally, let me just say that 17 reviews is unbelievable. I was hoping for 8 or 9, but you guys really came through and I just wanted to say thanks. Reviews are the life blood of fan fiction writers and it's nice to know when our work is appreciates, so thanks again.
Title: Quest
Chapter2 – Enter the Queen…
Original Posting Date: September 30, 2008
--
Upon a space station floating lazily amongst the stars, a new found sense of uncertainty filled the place as seven different, but equally sinister beings, glared at each other across a long, glossy, wooden table. Just hours ago they had all been positive that their ultimate victory would be swift and definite, now they were questioning whether or not that victory would even come at all.
The red skin of Lord Zedd glowed a bright shade of crimson as he stared down one of his old rival's King Mondo, the leader of the evil Machine Empire. The portly robot showed no fear towards the regal Zedd even as he slammed his fist angrily against the table and pointed his trademark Z-Staff at the Machine King.
"This whole mess is all your fault, Mondo," growled Zedd, his metal-tipped fingers crackling with electricity. Behind him stood his generals—his bony brother-in-law, Rito Revolto, and the winged Titan, Goldar—along with massive armies of Z-Putties and Tenga Warriors ready to fight at a moment's notice. "If you had destroyed the Pink Ranger months ago like you were supposed to, none of this would have ever happened. Once again, your idiotic failures have cost us more time and energy than we can afford to waste."
King Mondo chortled as his Cogs backed him up, waiting for their leader to say the word attack. "Sit down, Zedd, before you embarrass yourself any further," said the Machine King. "Do you remember what happened on Mirinoi? Or did that slip your mind just as your wife's failures on Alandria and Gamma Orion did?"
"Failures?" wailed the sorceress, Rita Repulsa, in disbelief. "You call those failures? Compared to what that bag of bolts you call a wife did on Kalderon, Alandria and Gamma Orion were just minor mistakes."
Rita's comment was enough to push King Mondo's patience to its breaking point. Rising from his seat, he pointed his own staff at the witch. "How dare you insult my wife! Had it not been for her saving your wretched life on Fernovia you would have already been destr—"
"Shut up!" roared Master Vile, rising from his seat, shaking his serpentine head. "I grow tired of your foolishness!"
"You tell 'em, Daddy!" Rita cheered, sneering at Mondo and his wife, Queen Machina.
Shifting his attention to Rita, Master Vila glared daggers at his daughter. "When I said 'shut up,' I meant you, too. You and that pathetic excuse of a husband have failed to stop the Pink Ranger at every turn," he replied bitterly, returning his gaze to the Machine Empire, "As have you. One lowly, weak, pathetic Pink Ranger and none of you can find a way to kill her; each and every one of you disgusts me!"
"What about me?" asked the space pirate, Divatox, innocently. Her own generals, Elgar and Rygog, along with a troop of Piranhatrons shadowed her from behind.
"You most of all," spat Master Vile, to Divatox's astonishment. "If I see another one of those blasted detonators, I'm going to take it from you, turn it sideways, and stick it right up your—"
"Enough!" yelled the table's final occupant; a woman with long, curly, blonde hair, dressed head-to-toe in shiny black and silver spandex. She was the evil queen, Astronema, a being feared by many across the universe despite her less than imposing stature. She was also the de facto leader of this deadly alliance. Her universal status was proven as the room fell silent almost instantly. "No one in this room, me included, is free of guilt. We have all had multiple opportunities to end the Pink Ranger's miserable existence, and we have failed each and every time. We underestimated her abilities and now we all have to pay the price for that."
"What is your point, Astronema?" asked Zedd, practically seething beneath the silver mask that covered his face.
"My point, Zedd," snarled Astronema, "is that bickering amongst ourselves is not helping us solve our newest dilemma. There are four more Rangers now, Rangers you yourselves have all said are formidable opponents. If we are to have any chance of defeating them then we must work together. Once the Rangers are destroyed, you can all go back to hating each other for all I care, but until that time I don't want to hear another word about what anyone else has done wrong."
Seated as far away from each other as possible, Mondo and Zedd stared at one another across the table. Their eyes remained locked for quite some time, neither willing to give an inch of ground to the other. Eventually, though, Mondo conceded and looked away, focusing on Astronema.
"And just where do you suggest we begin in destroying the Rangers?" asked Mondo, doubt evident his voice. "How can you expect for us to eliminate five Rangers when we can't even dispatch of one?"
Astronema scoffed, shaking her head. "You leave the planning to me, Mondo," she answered. "I know the perfect thing to get the Rangers out of our hair once and for all, so listen closely because I'm only going to explain this one time."
Over the next twenty minutes Astronema laid out a plan that, while extremely detailed at some points, was equally simple at others; necessary, considering she had the likes of Rita and Divatox to work with. When it was all said and done, even the ones who doubted her most had to acknowledge that her plan was solid.
"I hate to admit it," muttered Zedd, clicking his fingertips against the table, "but this plan of yours is so dastardly that it just might work!"
"I believe this is the first time we have ever agreed on anything, Zedd," added Mondo.
Astronema didn't need their confirmation to know that her plan was a good one, but she nodded semi-appreciatively nonetheless. "If this plan is to succeed then you must all play your parts to perfection. One mistake and it will fall apart completely. Needless to say, the one responsible should that happen would undoubtedly make me very, very angry."
The remaining six villains nodded in understanding, sharing looks of pure, unadulterated fear with one another. Even King Mondo and Lord Zedd could agree that being on Astronema's bad side was a most unfortunate position to be stuck in.
"What are you all waiting for? Get out of here!" Astronema yelled, slamming her fist against the table. With that, the members of the United Alliance of Evil went scattering, their generals and foot soldiers following in close pursuit. Only when Astronema was alone did the figure who'd been lurking in the shadows reveal himself to her. "Which of them do you think will be the first to fail me, Ecliptor?"
The black and green cyborg with evil red eyes looked to his queen. "Certainly that miserable pirate, Divatox," Ecliptor answered, Astronema nodding her agreement. "It was most wise of you to give her and Rita such menial tasks, my queen."
"Let us hope they are as menial as you believe," Astronema replied, smiling wickedly, "for their sake, that is."
--
Five beams of multi-colored light touched down in unison, revealing the control room of Kimberly's ship for the first time to the four new Rangers. Taking a moment to check out their surroundings, Trini noticed Alpha from the corner of her eye and smiled.
"Alpha-5, is that you?" Trini called out as the other Rangers looked to see what she was talking about.
"Ay-yi-yi, Trini!" said Alpha in excitement. Trini rushed to Alpha's side, embracing the robot warmly. "It has been so long since I saw you last."
Trini smiled brightly, the surprise evident on her face. "It's been too long, Alpha."
"Yo, Alpha!" shouted Zack, grinning as he lead the rest of the Rangers towards the automaton. "How's my favorite robot hangin'?"
"Dudes!" said Alpha, looking every which way as Jason, Tommy, and Zack all clasped a part of his metallic body. "Ay-yi-yi, I feel like my circuits are going to overload from seeing all of your faces again."
Tommy laughed. "It's good to see you too, Alpha."
Not since Tommy had passed on his powers to T.J. had he seen the Edonite automaton that had done so much for Zordon and his Rangers. Jason hadn't seen Alpha since his tenure with the Zeo Rangers, and for Zack and Trini it had been even longer.
Standing behind the excited quintet was Kimberly, watching their interaction with an expression of absolute joy. Up until now, she couldn't even remember the last time she had been so genuinely happy. Being alone in the emptiness of outer space for so long had the tendency of doing that to a person, and Kimberly was no exception. Despite her bubbly personality and an outlook on life that was usually extremely optimistic, even she had managed to fall victim to the lonely curse of outer space.
For the first time in a long time her heart had been warmed beyond that of what she experienced in her dreams. She looked on these people whom she had called friends for so many years, and just felt good inside. She couldn't explain it, nor did she have any desire to do so. All she knew was that life didn't seem so bad anymore, and that was good enough for her.
On one knee at Alpha's side, Tommy's eyes unintentionally drifted to his right where he made eye contact with Kimberly. They locked gazes as Tommy slowly rose to his feet, never once taking his eyes away from her. Conflicted beyond belief, he sighed inwardly and managed a small smile.
Caught off guard, it took Kimberly a few awkward moments of staring back at him before she was able to return the gesture. That he wasn't seething with anger at her mere presence gave her hope that maybe all was not lost between them. She didn't expect his love, though she greatly desired it, but perhaps over time they could learn to become friends again.
Once she'd determined that Alpha and the Rangers had had plenty of time to get reacquainted, she started walking towards the group. "Alpha, would you mind giving us a few minutes alone? I think I owe our friends a little explanation."
Alpha nodded. "Of course, Kimberly," he said before turning to the other Rangers. "Ay-yi-yi, it's so good to have you all back again."
Echoing their agreement, the Rangers were all smiles as they watched Alpha exit the control room. When he was gone, Jason shook his head. "Man, I don't know about the rest of you, but this is about the last thing I expected to happen."
"Yeah, well, welcome to my life," Kimberly replied, smiling.
"Is there somewhere we can go where we can all sit down and talk?" asked Tommy.
"Of course," Kimberly answered, nodding. "Follow me, guys."
And so they did, allowing Kimberly to lead them through a ship twice the size of the Hydro One. As they approached a door it slid open without force, the five Rangers entering a room with a large, circular table at the center. They spread out around the table, taking seats in the comfortable, black leather chairs that surrounded it.
Nervously, Kimberly tapped her fingers against the table's surface. "I guess I should probably start at the beginning, huh?" she asked, the other Rangers nodding. "It all started a couple days after the Pan Globals had ended. I was in my hotel room in New York, packing to go back to Florida when the room started to glow pink. There was this blinding flash of flight and then I was gone. When I reappeared, I was alone in a cave surrounded by people in brown robes."
"Edenoi," Tommy murmured knowingly, recalling his own interaction with the Edonites; one in particular.
"Yep," Kimberly replied, smiling slightly. "You guys," she continued, indicating Jason, Zack, and Trini, "were already in Switzerland and I was in bed with the flu when Tommy and the other Rangers went to Alpha's home planet to help Prince Dex."
"Who's Prince Dex?" asked Zack.
Kimberly looked to Tommy, silently offering him the chance to answer Zack's question.
"Prince Dex is the grandson of King Lexian, ruler of Edenoi and the man who commissioned Alpha 5's creation," Tommy explained, to Jason, Zack, and Trini's surprise. Unlike Tommy, they had never heard the story of Alpha's true origins before. "Along with his friends, Dex defends Edenoi the same way we protected Earth. When Zedd's archrival, Count Dregon, started to attack the planet, Alpha asked us to help his people fight back so Adam, Rocky, Billy, Aisha, and I went to Edenoi and that's where we met Dex, the Masked Rider."
"Exactly," Kimberly added. "So, like I was saying, at first I was scared because I had never seen Dex before, or any other Edonite for that matter. But then he changed into the Masked Rider and I sort of just knew that I wasn't in any danger. Then Alpha showed up, and he and Dex explained to me what had happened to Zordon. When Alpha asked me to help find him, I couldn't say no even though the idea of running around in space scared the living crap out of me. That was just over two months ago, and I've been looking for him ever since; with Alpha's help, of course. Honestly, I don't know where I'd be right now without him."
Tommy nodded. "What about the Morphers and the ship?" he asked. "Where did those come from?"
"The Shadow Rider is Dex's. As he explained it to me, it was King Lexian's personal ship before being passed down to him when he took over as the Masked Rider. It was built on a planet called KO-35 and, according to Dex, it's the fastest space ship in the universe," answered Kimberly. "As far as the Morphers go, Alpha gave them to me, but he couldn't tell me where they came from. All he knows is that they had been in Zordon's possession for centuries. Alpha said that when the U.A.E. came for Zordon on Eltar, he insisted that Alpha take the Morphers, get as far away from Eltar as possible, and protect them with his life until he found someone worthy to hold them."
Sharing a look of confusion with Jason, Tommy, and Trini, Zack shook his head. "I don't get it. If Alpha and this Dex guy knew that Zordon was missing, then why did it take two months for Dimitria to send us looking for him? Why did they just call you instead of all of us?"
Sighing, Kimberly shrugged. "I honestly don't know, Zack. I thought the same thing when they asked for my help. Why me, you know? There were at least a dozen other Rangers they could have chosen."
"You were always one of the best, Kim," said Tommy, surprising not only himself, but the other Rangers as well. No one, Tommy included, had expected his treatment towards Kimberly to be anything short of cold. And while part of him still deeply resented her for what she had done to him, he found it terribly difficult to be even remotely mad at her.
"Th-thank you, Tommy," Kimberly stammered, trying not to blush at the compliment. "That means a lot to me coming from you."
Tommy nodded nonchalantly, keeping his emotions as far away from the conversation as possible. He didn't want her to know that just seeing her face made all the problems in his life seem less important. He didn't want her to know that hearing her voice was like a calming symphony to his troubled heart.
He was damn good at hiding those emotions, too, but Jason had known Tommy long enough to recognize when his friend was uncomfortable. Sensing the Red Ranger's confliction, Jason took it upon himself to guide the conversation back on track. "So where do we go from here?" he asked, looking at Kimberly. "Do we even have any clue as to where Zordon might be?"
"One thing you'll learn quickly, Jase, is that there are always clues. Some are just better than others," Kimberly answered. "I was in that bar for a reason today. I heard whispers that the U.A.E. is planning to move something very important some time soon. It has to be Zordon."
"What makes you think that, Kim?" asked Trini, leaning back in her chair with a thoughtful expression. It wasn't that she didn't trust Kimberly, but after what she had seen of the bar's patrons earlier, Trini just didn't know if Kim should have been trusting overheard conversations.
Kimberly did not hesitate with her answer. "Because Zordon is all they have, and right now he's the only thing that's keeping all of them from tearing each other's heads off. Tommy, Jason, you both saw firsthand how much Zedd and Rita hate the Machine Empire and vice-versa. They wouldn't be working together unless it was absolutely necessary to do so."
"Do you have any idea what they might be planning to do to him?" asked Tommy calmly, absorbing like a sponge everything that Kimberly was explaining. While he had not been embellishing when he said that Kimberly was a great Ranger, it wasn't until now that Tommy truly took notice of her leadership abilities, and after her show of force at the bar, he had to admit that she was a much better fighter than he had ever given her credit for.
Kimberly nodded. "I'm not positive about this, but the rumor I've heard the most is that they are currently in the process of draining every ounce of his essence so that it can be sacrificed on Murianthis to revive Maligore."
A momentary silence set in as Jason, Tommy, and Kimberly shared a look with each other that Zack and Trini would never be able to understand. Tommy could still recall vividly the exact moment when he'd been told that Divatox had captured his best friend and former girlfriend. It was one memory that would never escape him, for it was only then when he'd realized that he had never really gotten over Kimberly leaving him.
"We can't let that happen. Zordon is too powerful," said Jason firmly. "Even when it was just Kim and I who were sacrificed, Maligore was wicked strong. If the Alliance of Evil succeeds in sacrificing Zordon, Maligore will be unstoppable."
"Do you know where they're taking him, Kim?" asked Zack.
"I have an idea, but that's it; nothing I can guarantee, unfortunately," said Kimberly, her tone apologetic.
"That's better than anything we have," Tommy supplied, earning a thankful smile from Kimberly which he pretended not to see. "Where do you think they're going?"
Kimberly sighed. "The U.A.E. has been taking him from planet to planet for months now, always finding a way to stay one step ahead of me. Sometimes, when I'm really close to him, I can feel his presence and it always changes based on the planet he's one. When he's at his weakest, it usually means they've taken him to a planet so dark and wretched that even his purity can't shine through it. Onyx is one of those planets, and it's only about twelve parsecs away from where I last saw them on Kalderon. If I had to guess, I'd say that's where they'll be taking him next."
"And if not?" asked Jason.
"Then we'll be no worse or better off than we are now," answered Kimberly. "Look, guys, I've been doing this for two months now, so let me give you a little piece of advice. Don't go into this thinking that every planet we go to is where we'll find Zordon, because nine times out of ten it isn't. And even if we do find him, we still have to get through the combined armies of seven villains all Hell bent on destroying us. I've literally been within seconds of getting to Zordon, only to lose him at the last possible moment."
"Hey now, don't make it sound too easy or anything," said Zack with a teasing laugh.
Closing her eyes for a moment allowed Kimberly to prevent Zack from seeing her roll them. "I know it sounds like I'm trying to discourage you guys right out of the gate, but I promise that's not what I'm doing. I just don't want you guys to go into this thinking it will be easy, because it won't be. It is easy to get down on yourself when it seems like you're constantly taking two steps back for every one step forward, though, but you just have to remember what it is that's at stake here. It's not just Zordon that we're trying to save; it's every living being in the entire universe."
Leaning back in his chair, Tommy closed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest, silently pondering what Kimberly was telling them. Right away it was clear that this mission was going to be unlike anything they had ever gone through as Power Rangers. Tommy knew that he was ready for it, and Kimberly had been doing this long enough to be ready for anything; he just hoped that the others were ready as well.
"So are we going to Onyx?" asked Tommy, opening his eyes to meet Kimberly's.
"No," answered Kimberly to the surprise of the other Rangers, "not yet, at least. You've always been the leader so I figured I'd leave the decision making up to you from now on."
Tommy nodded, tucking that comment away with a mental reminder to bring it up again later. "We'll go to Onyx then," he replied, Kimberly nodding her understanding. "How long will it take us to get there?"
"Right now we're about fourteen parsecs away, so if we set course now it should take us just under seven hours," said Kimberly. "Until then, feel free to take a look around the ship and get acquainted with the place seeing as how this will be home for the rest of the mission."
With that, three of the Rangers moved to explore their new home, but Tommy remained seated in his chair. When he realized that Tommy wasn't following, Jason stopped at the exit and turned around. "You coming, bro?" he asked.
"I'll be there in a bit," answered Tommy, never taking his eyes away from Kimberly as he stared across the table at her. Understanding what was about to happen, Jason nodded silently and continued after Zack and Trini. Though his emotions were in turmoil, Tommy refused to let Kimberly see that. "It's been awhile, huh?"
Kimberly nodded. "Yep," she answered awkwardly, looking away. "How've you been?"
"How honestly do you want me to answer that?" asked Tommy.
Opening her mouth to reply, Kimberly promptly shut it when she realized that she didn't really know the answer to his question. Two years ago she would have gladly listened to Tommy pour his heart out to her, but now she didn't feel like it was her place to be that person in his life.
"Why don't you just tell me whatever you feel comfortable telling me?" Kimberly replied. If Tommy was willing to talk to her, she didn't want to run the risk of alienating him even further by pushing him away.
"Kat and I broke up," said Tommy casually.
Kimberly's eyes went wide with surprise. The last time she'd seen Tommy and Katherine the pair had seemed so happy together. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's no big deal," Tommy replied, shrugging. "She moved away to London to join some dance school or something. Apparently she wasn't up for trying a long-distance relationship either."
Wincing visibly, Kimberly tried her best to hide the sting of Tommy's comment. "I deserved that," she murmured sadly. "Look, Tommy, I owe you an apology. What I did to you was wr—"
"Stop," said Tommy, cutting her off as he winced in visible pain. "You don't need to apologize for anything. We were almost three thousand miles apart and you met someone else, that's all there is to it. You made a choice, and even though I hated it at the time, it was still your choice to make. If you found the guy that you feel you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with, then I'm happy for you."
Kimberly had known Tommy long enough that she could see right through it whenever he tried to lie to her, as he was attempting to do so now. "Not that it really matters, but we broke up after everything that happened on Murianthis."
Inside, Tommy felt himself roar with sudden anger. How could she have thrown away nearly three amazing years for a guy she ended up dating for only a few months? "Sorry," muttered Tommy, biting back his bubbling rage for the sake of the team. They were all fish out of water, struggling to make do in a situation that they knew nothing about. The last thing any of them needed was a conflict inside their ranks. "What happened?"
"How honestly do you want me to answer that?" asked Kimberly, smirking. When Tommy didn't even flinch, she sighed. "The truth is that he wasn't you, Tommy. I thought he could replace you, and for awhile I convinced myself that he had, but then Murianthis happened. When you took off your helmet, when I got to look in your eyes for the first time in over a year, everything I felt towards Blake disappeared."
Tommy could not believe what he was hearing. For the longest time he stared at Kimberly in total silence, truly at a loss for words as he tried to wrap his mind around that which she had just told him.
"You broke my heart," he muttered, clenching his fists beneath the table. Maintaining the peace became the last thing on his mind as he rose from his seat. "You broke my heart, and for what!? Some guy you barely knew yet were so sure that you loved!? For three years I gave you everything I had and you stomped and spit on it like you didn't even care! How could you do that to me!?"
Tears brimmed in both their eyes, threatening to fall at a moment's notice. Never in her life had Kimberly hated herself more than she did right now. She'd seen every side of Tommy when they were together. Anger, fear, sadness, joy, uncertainty, happiness; they all paled in comparison to how he looked now.
"Tommy, you have no idea how sorry I am," Kimberly replied, but it was no use. Tommy was furious and the blame was hers to take.
"You're sorry?" asked Tommy, shaking his head. "You're sorry? Were you sorry when you wrote that letter? Were you sorry when Adam read it to me in the Youth Center in front of all of our friends? Were you sorry when I spent every night after that for almost two months wondering what I had done wrong or what I could have done better?"
"I hate myself for what I did to you," Kimberly admitted, the first of many tears to come sliding down her cheeks. "And if I could go back in time and change what I did, I would do it in a heartbeat, Tommy, but I can't. All that I can do is tell you how deeply and truly sorry I am, and hope that you can some day find it in your heart to forgive me."
Staring at Kimberly through tear-filled eyes, Tommy breathed deeply in an attempt to slow his racing heart thumping against his chest. "I have wanted to hate you and I have tried to hate you," he murmured, speaking slowly and quietly. "I've wanted to hate you so much and for so long that it makes my chest burn, but no matter how hard I try, no matter how bad I want to, I can't hate you. I never have and I never will. You could spit on me, kick me to the ground, and laugh in my face and I still wouldn't be able to hate you."
Kimberly didn't know what to say. Tommy was giving up and part of her actually felt like she deserved more than this as punishment. She'd spent months wondering what it would be like when and if they ever spoke again, mentally preparing herself for an outburst of anger and rage that far surpassed that which he had thrown at her.
"You have every right in the world to hate me," Kimberly whispered.
It was almost as though she was urging him to lash out more. She wanted him to take out everything right then and there, not only for her own sake, but because she'd seen firsthand the way the team suffered when Tommy was brooding over things he refused to talk about. If there was to be any hope of finding Zordon, they could not afford for Tommy to be at anything than his absolute best, both mentally and physically.
"Trust me, Kim, I know I do," said Tommy, gripping the table's edge as the beating of his heart finally started to steady. "That's what makes this whole thing so damn hard. It's like my head is telling me to hate you, but my heart—the part of me that should hate you the most—tells me to hug you."
"Can I be honest with you?" asked Kimberly. Following Tommy's single nod, she slowly rose from her chair. "I think we could both use a good hug right about now."
"Yeah, where's Jason when you need him?" Tommy replied. As soon as Kimberly looked away with a dejected expression upon her face he immediately started to feel bad. "Hey," he called out, regaining her attention, "come here."
Smiling, he beckoned her with a wave of his hand and opened his arms wide. Kimberly could hardly believe it was real as she fell into his arms, the same arms that had held her through both the best and worst experiences of her life for nearly three years. Resting her head against his chest, she sighed contentedly.
"I don't want to make any more decisions," said Tommy softly. "I don't want to lead this team."
Leaning back in his arms, Kimberly looked up at him in surprise. "What, why not? You lead the Rangers for almost four years."
Tommy nodded. "I did, and then I passed that responsibility on to someone worthy just like Jason did with me. If we were on Earth, I might not be putting up this fight, but right now you have the most knowledge and experience of the situation we're in, and this team desperately needs that."
She couldn't help but to appear utterly dumbfounded. "You trust me to lead an entire team?"
"I wasn't blowing smoke at you when I said you were one of the best," Tommy answered to Kimberly's appreciation. "There's very little I wouldn't trust you with."
"You mean like your heart?" asked Kimberly.
She couldn't help but to test the waters; such was her nature. Suffice it to say, some things just never changed. Unfortunately, she was left to regret her question as Tommy let go of his hold on her almost instantly, turning his back to her with deflated shoulders.
"No, Kim, not my heart," said Tommy after a few silent moments. He turned back around and looked at her with sadness in his eyes. She need only gaze into the chocolate brown windows to his hear and soul for a moment to see and feel his most deep seeded conflictions. "That's one thing I can't trust you with; not yet, anyway. I'm not a fortune teller, I can't predict what the future does or doesn't hold for us, but for now friendship is all I can offer you."
Though it wasn't necessarily what she wanted to hear, Kimberly was just glad that there was a place for her in Tommy's life at all. "I'm okay with friendship," she replied, "but I want you to know something."
"What's that?" asked Tommy.
"There are two kinds of people in this world," Kimberly answered."The people who make a mistake and say they'll never make it again, then turn around and do the same exact thing; and the people who make a mistake and hate it so much that they don't need to say they'll never make it again because they know in their heart that they won't."
Tommy raised a curious eyebrow. "Which one are you?"
"That, Tommy," Kimberly started, smiling at him before turning around, "is something only you can decide."
And with that she left, Tommy staring at nothing with his mouth hanging wide open. How long he stayed like this he wasn't sure, but it had to have been at least long enough for Kimberly to put significant distance between them because she did not immediately return when an alarm started to wail loudly, shaking Tommy from his stupor.
Pushing the conversation he'd just had to the back of his mind, he sprinted out of the room in search of the other Rangers. Upon turning a corner he nearly slammed right into Alpha, narrowly avoiding the automaton with a graceful spin move to his left.
"Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi, there you are Tommy!" exclaimed Alpha. "Kimberly sent me to find you. She and the other Rangers are waiting for you in the control room as we speak."
"Lead the way, Alpha," he said, following the robot down the hallway. When they arrived in the control room, Tommy found Jason, Zack, Kimberly, and Trini all standing around a glowing sphere that looked eerily similar to the Viewing Globe in the original Command Center. "What's going on, guys?"
Kimberly turned around and motioned for him to join them. "See for yourself," she answered.
Tommy recognized the towering buildings of Angel Grove's business district as soon as he saw them, but that was not all that was familiar. The sphere's image split in half down the middle, revealing Goldar and Rito wreaking havoc on one section of the district while Elgar and Rygog went to work on another area. Both duos lead armies of foot soldiers down the crowded streets, firing at anything and everything in sight.
"We have to stop them," said Tommy, Kimberly nodding her agreement.
"What about Zordon?" Jason asked.
"The Rider isn't the only way to travel, Jase," Kimberly answered, smirking. "We can teleport straight to Earth and the ship will continue towards Onyx without us. We still have almost six hours before we get there anyway."
"If we can teleport to Earth then why do we have to take the ship to Onyx?" asked Trini, confused.
Kimberly shrugged. "That's another one of those questions I don't have the answer to, Tri."
"I believe I do, though," Alpha-5 interjected, waddling towards the group now focused on him. "Teleportation is a very risky means of transportation. It requires both a teleportation grid and an extreme amount of Morphological energy from the people using the grid. The only reason you can teleport to and from Earth is because Zordon's grid in Angel Grove is still active. Once on Earth, you could use the grid and your own Morphological energies to teleport anywhere in the universe but, without a grid in the place you travel to, there's no way to bring you back."
Jason nodded even though he really didn't understand Alpha's explanation. One of the first things that he had learned as a Power Ranger was that sometimes the answers didn't always have to make sense. "Then what are we waiting for?" he asked, deciding that this was one of those times. "Let's go!"
Kimberly led the Rangers to a nearby wall with five circular openings that looked just like what they'd seen on the Hydro One. Zack took one look at the opening, turned his eyes to Kimberly, and shook his head.
"You said teleporting, not escape pods," said Zack. "There's no way I'm riding in one of those things again. My leg's are still cramped from the first time."
"They aren't escape pods, Zack," Kimberly replied, rolling her eyes. "Just follow me."
Gripping the bar above her, Kimberly pulled herself into the air and swung her body feet first through the opening. The Rangers all followed suit until only Zack remained, staring down the dark tunnel in front of him.
"Damn," he said in defeat, throwing himself into the tunnel.
When he dropped out a few seconds later he was fully morphed, plummeting through space towards a hovering blue glider. His feet landed on the metal surface perfectly, but the board started to wobble from side-to-side as he flailed his arms about wildly.
"I thought you were supposed to be the smooth one, bro," Jason teased, riding his own black glider as though he'd been doing it his whole life.
Zack finally managed to steady himself. "I don't want to hear it, Jase, I really don't," he said. Jason just laughed as Zack turned his attention to Kimberly. "What happened to teleporting?"
"Just wait for it," Kimberly answered simply. Maneuvering her pink glider over a small asteroid, she looked to the other Rangers. "When we get to Earth, Jason, Trini, and I will take Elgar and Rygog. Tommy, you think you and the big baby can handle Goldar and Rito by yourselves?"
Tommy looked at Zack, shook his head, and chuckled before returning his focus back to Kimberly. "We'll make do," he answered, banking his red glider hard to the left to avoid the same asteroid.
"You better save me a piece of Goldilocks, bro!" yelled Jason. "I can't wait to get my hands on him," he muttered, punching a fist into his open palm.
"I'll see what I can do," said Tommy, laughing, "but I'm not making any promises. Goldar and I still have a lot of unfinished business that we need to take care of"
Not seconds later the Rangers and their gliders turned into blurs of multi-colored energy, rocketing through space towards a little blue planet in desperate need of saving. As they entered Earth's atmosphere, their bodies reverted back to their normal states. Atop their gliders, they arrived in the business district of Angel Grove amidst a flurry of explosions, chaos in every direction as innocent civilians ran from the terror surrounding them.
Tommy and Zack let go their battle cries as they flipped from their gliders, landing right in the middle of a group of Zedd's Putties. From the moment the Red and Blue Ranger's feet touched the ground they were fighting.
Ducking one of the Putties, Tommy flipped backwards over another and kicked it in the back, sending it toppling into the first. Three more Putties immediately converged on him only to be dispatched as quickly as they had come. The Power coursed throughout his body and for the first time in a long time, Tommy actually felt good.
"Give Zedd my regards," Tommy grunted, driving his fist right into the Z on the Putty's chest, watching as it fell to the ground and shattered in a flash of light.
While Tommy concentrated on a more serious, straight forward approach to eliminating the Putties, Zack was having fun with it. He hadn't done this in so long, seamlessly mixing martial arts with dancing to create what he called Hip-Hop Kido.
"Man, these clay cronies got nothin' on the Zack-man," said the Blue Ranger tauntingly.
"Hey!" yelled someone from behind them. Tommy and Zack whipped around to find Rito standing there with Goldar nearby. "Mind if we play, too?"
Beneath his helmet, Tommy rolled his eyes. "Rito Revolto," he spoke, his voice littered with sarcastic impression, "how many more times do I have to kick your bony ass before you get the message? You'll never win."
"You guys just never learn, huh?" added Zack, shaking his head.
Goldar roared with laughter. "Foolish humans, we are stronger now more than ever. The Age of Evil has officially begun, and now the time has come for you to pay for your insolence."
"Yeah, well, we'll just have to see about that," Tommy replied, focusing on the Power within himself, "Space Saber!"
"Astro Axe!" shouted Zack.
With weapons drawn Tommy and Zack charged towards Goldar and Rito respectively. Tommy swung his sword hard at Goldar; the winged Titan managed to deflect the blow with his own sword, but he could not prevent the kick Tommy delivered to his midsection.
Goldar stumbled back a few steps. Clutching his stomach, he bellowed angrily. "You will pay for that, Red Ranger!"
Tommy scoffed, dropping into a fighting stance. "Save it, Goldar! You don't stand a chance!"
And with that they engaged each other once more. Nearby, Zack waged a similar war with Rito.
"Come on, you overgrown bag of bones, stop trying to hit me and hit me!" shouted Zack, dancing on his toes around a flurry of Rito's wild attacks. "Man, I didn't think anyone could be dumber than Goldar, but I guess I was wrong."
"Oh, you think you're funny, do you?" Rito replied. Pushing away from Zack, he stepped back and pointed his sword at the Blue Ranger. "Let's see if you're still laughing after I fry me up a little Ranger."
Rito fired a burst of red energy from his sword right at Zack, but the blast did nothing. Swinging his axe, Zack used the weapon to literally cut the energy in half which led to it harmlessly disappearing into thin air. "You're gonna have to do a whole lot better than that if you want to stop me, Rito!"
A few blocks away, Jason, Kimberly, and Trini were being kept busy by Elgar and Rygog along with an army of Piranhatrons. Divatox's generals had singled out the Black Ranger, causing Jason to fight two-on-one while Kimberly and Trini battled the Piranhatrons, struggling to break free of the circle the foot soldiers had formed around the pair.
Jason moved fast, somehow managing to block most everything that Elgar and Rygog threw at him along with getting in a few shots of his own. Eventually, though, the stacked odds became too much as Elgar and Rygog took him and tossed his body into a building. He writhed in pain, nursing his back as he slowly pushed himself back onto his feet.
"Come on!" Jason roared. Beating his fist against his chest, he thrust his right arm to the side, "Lunar Lance!"
The black weapon appeared in Jason's hand almost instantly. He twirled the staff from side to side tauntingly, practically begging for Elgar and Rygog to make another move at him. They obliged idiotically and were left to pay the price as Jason swung high at Elgar, elevating the pale white general with a blow to the chin before dropping low and sweeping Rygog's legs right out from under him.
Standing tall over Rygog, Jason silently admonished the general whose bulky armor made it impossible for him to do any more than wiggle around on the ground. "Just like a turtle," he said, shaking his head, "once you're on your back, you're fu—"
"Jason, look out!" yelled Trini, held back by the Piranhatrons.
The Black Ranger turned around just in time to side step Elgar and his sword, the blade of which looked like a row of playing cards. He kicked Elgar hard in the stomach once, doubling him over, then let loose with a series of rapid kicks to the same area, each one lifting Elgar further off the ground.
His final kick sent Elgar high into the air and on his way down Jason swung his staff like a baseball bat. Connecting directly with Elgar's chest, Divatox's general went flying into a nearby building, leaving a permanent impression of his body in the broken concrete structure.
With Elgar out of commission and Rygog stuck on his back for the time being, Jason ran to aid Kimberly and Trini in their battle with the Piranhatrons. Flipping over their circular barrier, he landed right in front of the two women and quickly took out a handful of Piranhatrons with a simple swing of his lance.
"Looks like you two could use a little help," said Jason.
Though she could not see it, Kimberly could practically hear the smirk on his face. "We were doing just fine, thank you very much."
Before Jason could reply, the Piranhatrons disappeared without warning in a flash of orange light. He quickly looked to his left, barely able to catch a glimpse of Elgar and Rygog before they were gone as well. Suddenly, the clouds above started to shift, the sky growing progressively darker until the afternoon sun was completely shadowed.
"Hey, it's Tommy. What's going on over there? Are you guys alright?"
Kimberly raised her wrist to her lips. "We're fine, Tommy, but something weird is going on. Get over here with Zack as soon as you can."
"Goldar and Rito just disappeared on us," Tommy replied. "We're on our way now."
Crackling columns of red and blue energy touched down a few moments later, but no one had time to say anything. A large bolt of lightning raced across the sky, connecting with the street just feet in front of the Rangers who were all thrown back as smoke poured from the ground. Clambering onto their feet, the Rangers watched as a black and green being rose high into the air, towering over them at monstrous proportions.
"Time to see what you're made of, Rangers," the monster growled.
"Who the heck is that?" asked Tommy, staring up at one of the few members of the United Alliance of Evil that he had yet to come in contact with.
"Ecliptor," answered Kimberly without hesitation.
Zack looked to his left at the Pink Ranger. "I take it you two are familiar?"
"We may have met a few times," Kimberly answered, swallowing hard. "This is bad. This is really, really bad."
"Why?" questioned Jason.
"Because if Ecliptor is working for the Alliance of Evil then that means Astronema is, too," said Kimberly, knowing that neither name meant anything to other Rangers. "Remind me to explain later. Right now we need to take this guy back down to size."
"Zords?" asked Tommy, raising an impressed eyebrow beneath his helmet.
Kimberly nodded. "I found them on Ganymede a couple days before you guys showed up."
"Convenient," murmured Zack.
Again, Kimberly nodded. "I guess now's as good of a time as any to test them out," she said, thrusting her arm into the air, "Mega Voyager online, now!"
In the depths of outer space, five large columns of multi-colored light shot from the Shadow Rider heading straight for Earth. The Zords arrived seconds later, leaving the newest Rangers in a momentary lapse of awe at what they were seeing.
"Let's do it, guys!" ordered Kimberly, leaping into her Zord as the other Rangers followed. "Log on!" she yelled. Dropping her voice she added, "I've always wanted to say that."
Tommy laughed in the cockpit of his new Zord; a giant, red, humanoid robot with missiles atop its shoulders. "Tommy here," he replied, "V2 Robo Voyager online."
"Jason here," said the Black Ranger, "V3 Shuttle Voyager online."
"Oh, you know the Zack-man and the V4 Rocket Voyager are here and online," said the Blue Ranger, chuckling as everyone else rolled their eyes at him.
"Trini here," the Yellow Ranger followed, "V5 Saucer Voyager online."
"V1 Tank Voyager is online as well," Kimberly added. "Now let's see what these puppies can do!"
From inside the Robo Voyager, Tommy guided his Zord towards Ecliptor where the two giants immediately began to grapple with one another. As Jason, Zack, and Trini flew by the pair Tommy struggled to hold Ecliptor in place, trying to get one of them a clear shot, but Ecliptor was too strong.
Ecliptor threw the Robo Voyager backwards, causing it to topple back and fall to the ground with a loud crash, nearly crushing Kimberly who'd been maneuvering the Tank Voyager closer and closer to the battle in search of an open shot at Astronema's general.
"Tommy, are you okay?" asked Kimberly via the Zord's interlinked communication's system.
"I'm fine, nothing but a few scratches I think," said Tommy, the Robo Voyager struggling to get back onto its feet. "Just keep that guy away from me until I can get up."
"Sure thing," said Kimberly.
Controlling the two cannons mounted atop her Zord, Kimberly took aim at Ecliptor and let loose with a barrage of pink energy. Ecliptor merely held up his hand and effortlessly deflected the attack, sending it right back at the Tank Voyager which was flipped onto its side in a flurry of smoke and sparks as a result.
Flying through the air, Jason piloted his shuttle Zord towards the back of Ecliptor's head, Trini and Zack flanking him from both sides in their rocket and saucer Zords. Swiftly, Ecliptor turned around and batted his hand at Zack's Zord, sending it hurtling out of control towards Jason's Shuttle Voyager. The impact knocked the shuttle into the Saucer Voyager, causing all three to veer off in retreat.
With the Robo Voyager back on its feet, Tommy controlled its every move as it reached down and gently took hold of Kimberly's overturned tank, setting it upright.
"Thanks," said Kimberly.
"Don't mention it," Tommy replied, giving her a thumbs up with the Robo Voyager's hand, "Hey, Kim?
"Yeah, Tommy?" she asked.
"I know I said I was going to stay out of the way and let you lead," he started, readying the Robo Voyager as Ecliptor started to charge him, "but I think it's time we rethink our strategy."
Somehow Tommy was able to connect with a thunderous punch to the side of Ecliptor's head, granting the Rangers a few more moments to regroup as Astronema's right hand man went down in a heap.
"I think you're right," Kimberly agreed. But that didn't stop her from blasting Ecliptor a few times whilst he struggled to regain his footing. Inputting the proper commands into her control panel she called out, "Mega Voyager transformation, now!"
The five Zords immediately obeyed her order, shifting shapes and combining with each other to form the Mega Voyager; the Robo Voyager became the thighs and lower torso, settling into Zack's Rocket Voyager which formed the legs along with the upper torso. The Saucer Voyager folded outwards, becoming the Mega Voyager's arms and chest plate while Jason's Shuttle Voyager split, attaching itself as the shield and head. The transformation was completed when Kimberly's Tank Voyager folded in and became the Voyager's feet.
When all was said and done the Mega Voyager stood as an imposing structure, matching Ecliptor in both height and width. The Voyager's right hand grasped what remained of Zack's rocket Zord, turning it into a powerful projectile ready to be fired at a moment's notice. Even one who knew nothing of the intricacies of Zords would know that the Mega Voyager was a force to be reckoned with just by looking at it.
At the heart of the Voyager, the five Rangers all entered a shared cockpit via openings in their personal Zords. Kimberly sat at the center of the small room, the Mega Voyager's main controls at her fingertips. Tommy and Jason were seated down in front of her, to the right and left respectively; Trini and Zack sat the same way, only behind her.
"Alright guys, let's see what this thing can do," said Kimberly, "Full power, straight ahead!"
"Right!" the Rangers replied, nodding as they guided the Mega Voyager towards a waiting Ecliptor.
On Kimberly's command the Voyager swung its rocket arm at Ecliptor who used his sword to block the attack. He immediately followed up with a strike of his own, but Jason managed to bring the shield around in time to prevent it from landing.
Back and forth they went, engaging in a series of punches, kicks, blocks, and weapon attacks as both combatants struggled for the advantage to no result. Simply put, it was a stalemate of two very equally matched opponents, neither of whom was willing to concede even an inch of ground to the other.
When Ecliptor suddenly started to back away, the Rangers didn't know what to think. So large was the Mega Voyager that its sensors didn't register the miniscule presence of Elgar and Rygog on the ground below. The pair of generals worked rather quickly while still remaining cautious so as not to be stepped on, planting an array of detonators all over the Voyager's legs and feet before disappearing undetected.
The battle continued to rage on for quite some time, but the more it continued the more it started to seem as if Ecliptor was becoming disinterested with them. In the beginning he had fought furiously then his counterstrikes grew lethargic before stopping completely. Now he only blocked the Mega Voyager's attacks, doing only what was absolutely necessary to ensure he remained relatively unscathed.
Though he would have gladly ripped the Mega Voyager apart piece by piece had Astronema ordered him to do so, that was not his place. Destroying the Rangers was a task that he felt he deserved, but for reasons he did not know nor question, Astronema had entrusted that duty with Divatox and her henchmen. His job was simply to keep the Rangers distracted and occupied long enough for the detonators to do what they were intended to do.
"It's like he's not even trying to hurt us anymore," said Tommy, the Rangers echoing their agreement.
"Something is definitely not right here," added Kimberly, trying to decide their next course of action. As she was quickly discovering, learning to lead on the fly was not an easy task. "Zack, Trini, I want full scans on every inch of the Mega Voyager. Tommy, Jason, I need you to do the same thing but do them on Ecliptor."
Nodding their understanding, the Rangers went to work on completing their scans. Trini was the first to turn around, thankful that her dark visor prevented everyone from seeing the fearful look in her eyes. "Guys, we've got at least ten or twelve mini-detonators on each leg. They aren't too powerful on their own, but there are more than enough down there to take this thing out."
"Are they remote-controlled or timed?" asked Kimberly, already formulating their next move.
Trini looked back at the scans on her screen. "Timed," she answered, her eyes growing wide, "and by the look of it we've got less than thirty seconds before they're set to go off."
"This thing is going to blow" said Jason, shooting onto his feet. "We have to get out of here, now!"
For eighty percent of the Mega Voyager's occupants, what to do next was not even a question; they either abandoned ship and lived or stayed on board and died. Kimberly, however, hesitated in following them towards the escape hatch. The clock continued to tick as one by one Jason, Zack, and Trini exited the Voyager, but Tommy stopped when he noticed that Kimberly was not following them.
"Kim, come on, let's go!" Tommy urged.
She didn't move, though. She couldn't. Tommy had said that he trusted her to lead this team; in her eyes, losing the Zords now would be like breaking that trust, the mere thought of which scared her beyond recognition.
"But our Zords will be destroyed. We have to try and save them, Tommy," Kimberly argued.
Tommy shook his head. "We have to save ourselves, Kim. Now either you move or I'll move you myself," he said firmly. When Kimberly didn't budge, Tommy grabbed her around the waist. "Fine, have it you way then."
Holding her tightly, he lifted her off of her feet and ran with her towards the escape hatch, leaping into the air just as the timers on the detonators struck zero.