Ninjetti Rebirth
Chapter 2: Troubles at Home
A/N: Time on Zega is slower than on Earth. One day on Zega equals three days on Earth. Just to avoid time confusion for everyone.
Karone had already hated having to wander around the jungle, but now she had to spend the night in it. It pissed her off to no end, when Tommy tried to cuddle up to her she kicked him in the shin and told him to go away. They had been searching the base of the temple for an opening, and Karone had a feeling that they weren't even half way through with it. They had covered one side, and started another when the sun had gone down. Tommy and Ryan had handed Karone their jackets so she didn't have to sleep directly on the wet ground. Having to stay in over grown yard wasn't what she had signed on for when she agreed to get new Powers. She hoped they'd find the entrance to the temple tomorrow, she absolutely refused to stay in the jungle another night. As far as she was concerned the jungle was for animals, not humans. Still, she thought, it's nice to know that Tommy's keeping the first watch. She loved him, and she felt bad about kicking him, but damn it she was pissed and that meant that she was definitely not in the mood for any of his silly little games. After a few more minutes of grumbling about being in a frickin' jungle she greatfully let the sweet serenity of sleep whisk her away from this nightmare they called a jungle.
Everyone had fallen asleep too, much easier than she did. Tommy sat up and took the first watch, after two hours he would wake Adam up to take the second, Ryan the third, and Rocky the fourth. That would give them each six hours of sleep, and allow Karone eight. She needs it, Tommy thought as he rubbed his leg where she had kicked him earlier. As he sat up and alert he listened for anything out of place within the jungle. He could hear the birds of some sort off in the distance, he could hear a panther somewhere out there, and something moving along the bushes, probably a snake, he thought. He turned to face the temple, there was something about, something about the energy it projected out at him, that seemed familiar. Rocky and Adam had agreed with him about it feeling familiar. He knew it wasn't Ninjor's temple. They were nowhere near the Desert of Despair. But still, something about it seemed to call out to him. He didn't know what it meant, but he was determined to find out. He could have sworn he just heard a tiger's cry out in the jungle.
Baneero had been waiting for news on the Rangers whereabouts. He knew they had gone out to seek new Powers, he even had Zedd and Trixabus shoot them with lightning from their staff's. But after the shot had been fired he had heard no news of the Rangers. Were they alive? Did they drift off into space? They had yet to report in, it was one of the few times he actually cared about something and its outcome. He had sent Rita and Astronema out to find the two slackers. His gaze drifted over to Rito, Goldar, and Alia. Look at them, he mused, three little puppets for me to play with as I please. If I want one dead, I merely send them into battle against someone I know they can't handle.
He sighed, just sitting here was boring. He'd have a bone to pick with the brothers when they returned.
He had been left all alone on the ship, not that that was a bad thing. It gave him time to speak with his true master. He had served Baneero long enough, even though it had been a ruse, he'd done it. His master had commanded him to do it, forced me to do it, he thought dryly. He hated Baneero with a passion, he often dreamed of the day that he would eventually kill the emperor. He looked over at Baneero's staff. It resembled an ax, with two yellow,saturn like, spheres behind the blade. "Yes master, his power lies in that staff." He assured his master "Of course. I will kill him with his own power. Then, we shall begin construction..."
It was Adam's turn to stand watch, he'd gotten up, though he hadn't been happy about it. It had taken Tommy a few tries to actually wake him, followed by a little slapping to snap him out of his grogginess. As he sat there he began to think about his dream. He had been dreaming about his tenure as the Black Mighty Morphin', he had enjoyed those Powers the most. When the Sentinel Knight approached a few years before and asked him to take the Power up again, he had been overjoyed. The first time he morphed into the Black Ranger after nine years had been amazing. He felt sheer strength of the Mastadon flow through him. He had been sad when the Overdrive Rangers had got their Powers back, but happy at the same time. Since then he kept the Mastadon coin and morpher locked up, in case he ever needed it again. In the mean time he had opted to utilize his Zeo Powers, he'd rather fight in battle and lose Powers more than he would the Mastadon. There was just something special about your first Power. That was why he had sent the Dragon coin to Andros to give Tommy. He knew Tommy could want his morpher repaired and that Eltar, since he had no idea where to find the Sentinel Knight, was the only place to do such a thing.
He looked out into the jungle. It was dark, he couldn't really see anything out there other than darkness. He closed his eyes and listened for anything out of the ordinary, he heard all the normal sounds of the jungle, everything was peaceful. Quiet. Then suddenly he jumped as the sound of Rocky's snoring pierced through the darkness. "Damn." He said as the former Red cut another set of logs. "Does ever stay quiet?" He shook the sound out of his mind as he began his meditation.
The Mystic Mother began to worry, she knew Zedd and Trixabus had interfered with her transport of the first four Rangers. She hoped they still made it to Zega and could still acquire the Great Power. If they didn't then it would mean that she had failed Him. Her mission ever since becoming the Mystic Mother had been repentence, but also acceptance of her former enemy. She had even tried to play him once, which was why she created the Mystic Rangers. He communicated with her frequently, even told her of the Powers on Zega, and another set on Phaedos. If Tommy and the others didn't return from Zega, then she'd have no choice but to send another team of veteran Rangers to Phaedos. She sighed deeply, was that all she could do? Just send another team to another planet?
She looked through her viewing globe, trying to focus it on Zega, but there was too much interferance and Zega was too far away anyway. She listened to the footsteps approaching her. "Not now Rad. I'm busy."
"I'm not Rad." The voice said calmly. Mystic Mother turned and her eyes widened at who she saw standing before her.
Rocky was dreaming, he knew that, he'd long been able to distinguish the difference between a dream and reality. A few hints didn't hurt though, and the Red Mighty Morphin' Ranger standing before him was a big hint. The Red Mighty Morphin' didn't exist anymore, well, the people did, but not the Powers. The Red Ranger defeated one Putty after another, followed by the Tenga's. Then the Red Ranger vanished and the Red Ninjetti Ranger appeared, hood and mask in place. He'd loved the Ninjetti Powers. They'd been his favorite out of the three sets of Power he once held. He didn't know what this dream meant, if it meant anything at all. He'd never been good at deciphering the meaning behind things, but he didn't care. He was proud of what was able to decipher. Why he was seeing his younger self he didn't know.
Before he could see anything more he woke with a jolt. Adam turned to face him and said "Good, you're up. I can go back to sleep now." Rocky shook his head and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"My turn already?" He yawned, stretching.
"Yeah, you must have woke yourself up with your snoring." Rocky shook his head again and gave his face a few light slaps to energize himself.
"What're you talking about? I don't snore. Never have." He grinned, trying to contain the chuckle that accompanied it.
"The hell you don't. Man I thought Zedd was walking around, you snore that badly." Adam joked, laying down and rolling over to sleep.
Rocky went and sat over on the rock Adam had left. Well this is going to be fun, he told himself as he looked up at the night sky, trying to see any constalations he might recognze. He didn't see any. Sighing, he layed back across the rock, leaving his legs to hang off. If only things could be as a simple as they were back then, he thought, remembering his dream. Things had always been so much simpler when he was teenager, even the Ranger battles were easier. If he got hurt in battle, he'd heal within a few days. Now it took him a lot longer to bounce back. "Getting old sucks..." He muttered.
"You got that rig-" He heard Adam absently agree with him. He grinned, Adam was like a brother to him, as was Tommy. The three had been Rangers the longest out of anyone in their current team. Tommy had been a Ranger long before Rocky and Adam, and that was one reason why everyone looked up to him as the leader. Another was that he had the reputation of being Earth's greatest Ranger, at least within the Ranger and Intergalactic communities. Rocky's grin widened as he thought, It's good to be back.
Zedd growled and groaned as he and his brother trekked through the now misty jungle. He couldn't believe his brothers aim had been so far off. The amount of energy they sent out to stop the Rangers should have been enough to disentegrate them. But his brother, Trixabus, had botched the job. He swore it had been Trixabus. The two hadn't said a word to each other in hours. I swear, Zedd thought, when I get back to the palace I am going to kick everyone out. That is my palace.
Trixabus looked over at Zedd, thinking about how his brother screwed their plan up. First it had been with the gems, he'd foolishly used them to get his wife out of the Shadow World, thereby rendering any hope of them returning to normal. He had said they would release them, but that was only a ploy to get his brother to help him in his own quest. The second thing his brother screwed up was letting the Green Ranger get away, he solely blamed Zedd for that blunder. Finally, he had misfired during their attempt to kill the Rangers on their way to Zega. So now, because of his brother, he had to wander around this back water planet looking for them. If he didn't need his brother right now, he'd kill him on the spot.
Hayley looked around the apartment; it was a mess. She'd tried to keep it clean, but everyday when she came home it was a mess. Ever since she'd gotten a job at NASADA and they'd moved to Angel Grove Jason had been acting a little weird. She didn't know what was bothering him. She sighed and walked over to the bedroom, he wasn't in there. "Jase?" She called, but no one answered. "Jase?" She called out again, "Come here boy!" She grinned at her little reference of him being like a dog, but she quickly shook the grin off her face. She didn't see a note anywhere, then again she didn't much of anything beyond the empty soda cans, chip bags, and the barrage of clothes that had assaulted the living them. She was beginning to worry, Jason always called or left a note when he left. She tried calling him, but it went straight to voicemail. Okay, now I'm definitely worried, she thought.
She drove around to his usual hang out spots, Bullk'n Skull's Juice Bar, Surf Shop, the Harley store, but still nothing. It was as if he'd just simply vanished. She was beginning to panic, sure he still had the Red Prehistoric Powers, but that didn't make him invincible. She loved him, and was honest to God scared out of her mind that something had happened to him. She tried calling him several more times, and left several more messages. But he didn't reply. She'd even called Conner and asked him to try, he said he still didn't answer. "I know he knows that Justin and Cassie's funerals are tomorrow...so where on Earth could he be?"
Ryan sat up and alert, this has to be the most boring job ever, he thought dryly. Rocky had woke him up about an hour ago and gone back to sawing his logs. Ryan sighed heavily as he dropped his head into his hands. He could see the sun beginning to peek through the trees. Just one more hour, he told himself, just manage to stay sane for one more hour, then this boring ass job will be over. He slid his hands across his face, pulling his lower lip down. "My God this is a boring!" He exhaled as he pulled his head up and looked out into the jungle. He could see the morning dew running off some of the leaves, and onto the ground. He looked over at his teammates; Rocky was spread eagle across the ground, treating each snore as though it were his last, Adam was laying stiff as a board, wheezing his snores in and out, Karone was curled in a ball not making a sound, and Tommy looked as though he were awake, but Ryan didn't want to risk it. Tommy wasn't someone you wanted to try and wake up, it was why he took first watch. His body was always on alert, if something was off he'd instantly jump up and see what was wrong.
After about another thirty minutes of just sitting there, he saw Tommy quickly stand. "What's going on?" Ryan asked as he watched Tommy check all sides of the camp. He jumped off the rock and cautiously walked over to where Tommy currently stood. He tried to look and see what it was his friend was staring at, but as far as he could tell it was just some trees. "Is it more of those samurai style guys?"
"Sh." Tommy shushed him, he stared, focused into what was beyond those trees. After another minute or two he whipered "Help me wake the others, we need to move. Now!" Ryan didn't question his order, he quickly began trying to wake Rocky and Adam. He shook Adam awake and told him to be quiet, that Tommy saw something off in the forest that he hadn't. Next he moved over to Rocky, he simply grabbed his nose get him to quiet down while he woke him. It was effective, it cut off his loud rounds and woke him at the same time. Tommy tried gently to wake Karone, but she was gone. She had desperately needed sleep. After about three or four minutes of trying to wake her he simply picked her up and carried her on his shoulders. "Grab the jackets." He whispered to Rocky and Adam. "C'mon. Let's go."
Tommy lead the others back into the forest a little ways, when he was sure they were far enough away he told them what it was he had seen. "They must have followed us." He said, anger rising that he hadn't noticed them sooner.
"Who?" Rocky asked, confusion clear. Fear also lined his voice a little.
"It must have been them who shot at us in space." Tommy slammed his fist into his hand. "Damn it!"
"Who?" Rocky asked again, a little bit of anger creeping into his voice. He was on the run and damn it, he wanted to know who, or what, he was running from.
"Zedd and Trixabus. I knew something felt off while I was standing guard, I just didn't know what." He quickly grabbed Karone before she slid off of his shoulder.
"What do want with us now? We have no Powers." Adam said, checking around to be sure they weren't closing in.
"Well if anything like normal, they want to kill us." Ryan retorted, wondering how Tommy could feel them coming.
"Come on." Tommy said, taking charge again, "We've got to find a way into that temple; fast." The others nodded and they began their search for an opening again. Tommy lead the others, feeling around for some sort of switch, or an illusion. He remembered thinking that they had run into a dead end while searching for Ninjor and his temple, but he accidentally found that one of the walls was an illusion. He hoped this temple was the same and that they'd find the opening before Zedd and his brother found them.
Zedd wasn't the most powerful enemy, he really one of the weaker ones that Tommy had faced; but add his brother into the equation, and you had a big mess on your hands. Tommy didn't want to tangle with the two of them with no Powers. He would if he had to, but he hoped he wouldn't. He remembered the first time he had faced Zedd in head to head combat; he had been the White Ninjetti Ranger at the time. He had been trying to rescue Kimberly, whom Zedd had captured and was killing by draining her life force. Kat had been under Rita's spell at that time and had stolen Kim's Ninjetti Power Coin. They didn't know it until then, but their life force was linked to the coin, and if you ever lost the coin then you would quickly begin to die. Kim, Tommy thought, I promise when we get back I'll help you in every possible way...
Andros and Ashley had flown in two days ago from their honeymoon. The day after they got back they attended the funerals of both Justin Stewart and Cassie Chan. Their deaths had thrown Ashley's emotions into overdrive. She was about three months pregnant and emotional enough as it was, but the news of their passing had sent her over the deep end. Andros was saddened as well, but not to the degree his wife was. She had served with Justin on the Turbo team, and Cassie on both the Turbo and Space teams. To Andros, Justin was just an acquaintance he'd met once or twice in the past, but Cassie was a dear friend to him. He had done his best to comfort her, held her, listened to the stories she told him, even though he'd heard them all at least five times before, and told her that everything was going to be alright. He told her they were in KO-00 now, when she asked what that was he explained it was basically the KO-35 equivalent of Earth's Heaven. That had made her feel a little better, but not much. He eventually decided to change the subject, asking why she was so emotional before the news. She explained it was because she was pregnant. He mused, thinking about his own mother hadn't been emotional at all while carrying Karone. But, he told himself, KO-35 has more advanced technology than Earth.
The day after the funeral had been a trying one for Andros. All day Ashley would send him out for something, then he got home she'd change her mind and want something else. He was getting tired of having to go here, then there, and then back over here. He knew she wasn't doing it on purpose, but was still a little frustrating to him. He told himself that he'd be the happiest he'd ever been once the next six months passed. Things didn't get any better when his old friend Zhane showed up later that night. Zhane had wanted to take Andros out on the town, cheer him up a bit. But Andros had said he couldn't leave Ashley, which frustrated Zhane a little.
He and Andros used to do everything together, but now Andros seemed to be bound by an invisible shackle. It was one of the reasons why Zhane never settled down with anyone. He had to be able to roam free, do what he wanted, go where he wanted. He didn't believe you could have that kind of freedom in a relationship, so he settled for a lot of one night stands. He wasn't proud of it, he couldn't bear to be held back.
When Zhane insisted, Ashley screamed at him that Andros said he didn't want to go, which Zhane readily accepted when he saw the look in her eyes. She could pass for Astronema with that look, he mused. He had dated Astronema once, actually managed to tie himself down in a way. But when she ended it after he was late for one of their dates, that was when he had made the decision to stay away from committed relationships. It bothered him a little that his friend had settled down and started a family and he hadn't. It almost made him re-think his decision about relationships. Almost.
Jason held his face up to the sky. It was hot, scorching hot in fact. The smell of brimstone and ash quickly filled his nostrils as he inhaled. The brown, vine covered ruins and skulls that surrounded him gave off an eerie orange glow. He opened his eyes and stared at the dark clouds in the sky. Lightning cracked above him several times in response to what he was about to do. He had been called back here, he didn't know why. He hadn't wanted to return, which is why he ignored the calling for the past few months. But then a familiar, friendly voice from his past asked him to return, he knew he could trust that voice. It had never steered him wrong, always lead him in the right direction. It had taken him three days, he left the day before the funeral and had just arrived the night after, but he had made it. He had returned home. He stared into the pit below him, watched as the lava flowed coolly at the surface. Slowly, inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, and allowed his body to lean forward, never making a sound as he fell.