Author's Notes: Howdy y'all! Here's chapter six. And as an added bonus, I will be posting chapter seven right after this! I am toying with the idea of posting two chapters at a time since I still have the entire third piece of the trilogy to post. What do you guys think?
Ghostwriter: Yeah, I wanted to go the embarrassing route because I felt like they could use it. I'm a torturer, what can I say?
Hackthecatboy: Yay full commentary! :) You'll get answers to the musings you posted throughout other chapters!
Enjoy, everybody!
Adam twisted in the air as two Cogs lifted him up and threw him out of their way. He hit the ground with a grunt, scrambling to get to his feet.
"They want Rocky's car! Stop them!"
Kat, Tanya and Tommy all fought their way through the numerous Cogs, which kept multiplying. Each time Adam managed to take one down, two more seemed to grow in its place. He fought against their strong grips and their menacing attacks, but he was wearing down. He wasn't going to be able to handle this for much longer.
Three Cogs began fidgeting around Rocky's car. Adam yelled out to stop them and was met with a fist to his helmet. For a moment he saw stars, but the moment his focus returned he broke free from their grip, knocking a Cog off Tommy's back along his way toward the vehicle.
"Oh, no you don't!" he shouted, making a dive for one of the Cogs. However, it jumped out of the way just in time, giving what could only be described as a strange, mechanic chuckle. The Cog quickly alerted its cohorts to something on the car—something Adam couldn't see—but that apparently, they were absolutely fascinated with.
Tanya managed to take one of them down, but it wasn't enough. The remaining Cogs ripped open a portal and took Rocky's car right along with them.
"Damn it!" Adam growled.
"Oh no!" Kat said.
Irritated and defeated, Adam, along with his fellow Power Rangers, returned to the Power Chamber to discuss what happened. This time, however, Adam made sure that he contacted the one person missing: Rocky.
It took a moment for the other to reply, but soon Rocky's voice came through the communicator. "This is Rocky, what's up?"
"Rocky, it's Adam. Can you come to the Power Chamber?"
"I can try…gimme a minute."
"No, no, don't try to teleport." He turned to Alpha. "Alpha, can you do it for him?"
Alpha said, "Locking on coordinates now. He should be on his way!"
Rocky appeared upon the work bench near the display of their old power suits. It was easy to tell from the anticipatory look on his face that he had been waiting for some kind of communication. Adam just wished it was better news than what they had.
"Cogs stole your car," he told him.
"What? No!" Rocky's face fell. "It still hasn't even been repaired yet!"
"Hasn't it been at the shop for, like, two weeks?" Tanya asked.
"That's exactly it!" Rocky replied. "It was up to be fixed this week, when my dad could afford it…damn it!"
"We tried to fight them but there were just too many," Kat explained. She looked visibly upset. "Sorry, Rocky."
The Blue Ranger shook his head. "Sorry, guys, it's not your fault. You did what you could. I'm just…it's been one of those days."
Didn't Adam know that. His cheeks flushed at the memory of not but thirty minutes previous.
"But, hey, good news!" Tanya said, pointing at Rocky's leg. "Your cast changed!"
"Oh! Oh yeah! I'll be back in school on Monday. Last weekend of freedom before heading back."
"It is good to see you again, Rocky," Zordon said from his power tube.
Rocky smiled. "You too, Zordon!"
"Undoubtedly we have uncovered a sinister plot involving your car and the Machine Empire."
"I guess so. At least I was right about them possessing it in the first place."
Adam turned and looked at Zordon, putting his helmet on one of the many control panels. "So we know they were the ones who caused his injuries…do you think they're gonna try and do that with the rest of us?"
"It is unknown at this point," Zordon explained. "However, I would err on the side of caution and be careful using your vehicles. We do not know what they have planned."
Just then, the warning alarm against the wall began spinning and wailing. Alpha screamed, "Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi!" and adjusted the viewing globe to show the disturbance. A monster looking an odd cross between a vehicle and a metallic Hyena was terrorizing individuals at what looked to be an outdoor car show.
An outdoor car show in early winter.
Only in California, Adam thought.
"My car!"
Rocky moved to stand but cried out in surprise when his foot didn't quite hold his weight. He nearly fell to the ground, but Kat managed to catch him and help him back onto the bench. Without his crutches, he was relatively helpless.
Adam looked to Tommy. "Should we go after it? Just the four of us?"
"We don't have a choice, do we?" Tommy replied.
"You guys can't go alone!" Rocky said. "Mondo's monsters are way strong. Let me just—"
His Zeonizers materialized on his wrists, but Kat stopped him by gripping on to them.
"Rocky, you can't, your ankle!"
"You guys won't last without me," Rocky said. "And I don't mean that in an ego-boosting way; I'm just saying! We're strongest when we're together!"
Adam wondered where this sudden urge to fight had come from. Rocky had seemed all too ready to take a break with the sudden disappearance of activity, but right here and now he was acting like he hadn't fought in years.
"It is unsafe for you to fight, Rocky," Zordon said.
He continued, "However, there may be another way."
Naturally, all of the rangers looked at Billy, who appeared just as curious as they did.
"Don't look at me," he said. "Zordon, what do you mean?"
Zordon said, "Rocky will not be able to fight until his injury is healed. In the meantime, I recommend temporarily granting his powers to another."
"You mean like a power transfer?" Rocky asked.
"Precisely."
Though it took the others a moment to think on it, Tanya seemed to pick up on the idea immediately. She looked to Billy.
"It's perfect! Billy, you could fight in Rocky's stead until he's better!"
Tommy laughed. "You could pull out the old blue clothes, too."
Billy went wide-eyed. "Zordon, do you think that's a good idea? I don't even know if I could do such a thing. The Zeo Crystal chose Rocky specifically. Won't it malfunction for someone other than him?"
"If Rocky willingly transfers the power to you, then there should be no problem," Zordon explained. "It is a situation similar to what Aisha did with Tanya."
Tanya smiled. "Worked for me!"
"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" Rocky said feebly. He removed his Zeonizers, wavered for just a moment, but then nodded firmly, as if he'd come to terms with the decision. He held them out for Billy to take. "Here, Billy. I offer you my power until I recover from my injury. Do you accept?"
Billy hesitated. He looked at each ranger, as well as Zordon, before he, too, nodded. "I accept, Rocky. Thank you for the opportunity."
Adam knew Billy would be a good substitute while Rocky was gone, but he couldn't help wondering how his boyfriend felt. Had it been him, he would have begrudgingly given them up. Adam liked being a Power Ranger far too much. However, he supposed Rocky had no real choice. It was for the good of the planet.
"You know the drill, right?" Rocky asked, though half-heartedly.
The former Blue Ranger latched on the Zeonizers and did a few tests of hand motions before he nodded. "Let's try this out. Zeo Ranger Three, Blue!"
Billy morphed in a flash of blue light. Standing there before them, now, was Zeo Ranger Three. Adam couldn't help but feel strange seeing both him and Rocky in the same room together.
"It worked!" Billy said. "The power transferred safely."
"Thank you for your brave and kind action, Rocky," Zordon said. "Together, now, King Mondo's monster can be defeated and you can focus on a quick recovery."
Rocky frowned. "Does this mean my car is being demolished?"
"We'll do our best to save it, Rocky," Kat said. She gave him a sympathetic smile. "If we can't, we'll pitch in and find you a new one, all right?"
"Do your best!" Rocky said.
"All right, back to action!" Tommy said.
Adam followed Tommy, Kat, Tanya and Billy to the scene where the monster was. From the looks of it, several cars had already been damaged beyond repair. Tommy seemed the most upset by this, given the string of frustrated words and sounds that left him. The team split into two groups to find the source of the destruction. Adam, paired with Tanya, headed toward the tents on the far right side of the fairgrounds. They were definitely going in the right direction, as from each hidden crevice and crook popped a Cog, ready to fight them. They fought their way through thanks to their Zeo Pistols and Zeo Swords, but came to a dead end. The monster wasn't there.
From in the distance came the strangled cry of Kat. Adam and Tanya looked at each other and then darted in its direction. Sure enough, the others had run into the monster.
It was even uglier in person. Like most monsters of the Machine Empire, it was heavily mechanical, with a bronze shimmer to it. The beast looked like an oversized hyena that had half-way morphed into a car: its hands and feet were tires, and its chest looked like a deformed carriage. It had a grating voice, like tires squealing on pavement.
"Rangers! You've come to the car show, excellent! Let me show you just how easy it is to flatten you all on the ground!"
"I don't think so!" Adam shouted. He pointed his Zeo Sword at the thing. "You're nothing more than a possessed car, and we're gonna take you down!"
"Good luck trying to catch me!"
Before Adam could blink, the hyena-car hybrid was right next to him, knocking him to the ground. He somehow managed to roll out of the way in time to miss being run over, but the sheer force against his chest made him sick.
As he gathered himself he heard his teammates combating the monster. Adam managed to shoot it from behind with his pistol, causing it to veer off course from squishing Billy. It collided with a Chevy Impala, shattering the entire driver's side into crumbling pieces.
All five rangers encircled the monster, their weapons at the ready. It cowered in fear, but something soon landed on it. They all recognized it by now: Orbus, otherwise known as that obnoxious robot that made monsters grow.
Tommy yelled, "Fall back!"
He and the others jumped back just in time for the monster to grow gargantuan in size. It cackled deviously and looked down at them with an insidious stare.
"We need Zeo Zord power, now!" all five shouted in unison.
From the distant mountains came their legendary zords. Each ranger teleported into their respective cockpit, preparing themselves for battle.
"This is absolutely amazing!" Billy called through their communication devices. "I've wondered what the interior was like. I'm glad I get to finally see."
"You built these!" Tommy said. "You mean to tell me you didn't see the inside?"
"Not all of them!" Billy replied with a laugh. "I had Alpha's help!"
The monster wasted no time in attacking the moment a Zeo Zord was visible. It crashed into Adam's bull, but he kept his hands locked on the gears, refusing to budge.
"Not going anywhere, you creep!" he grunted.
With the flip of a switch and the push of a lever, he head butted the beast back, causing it to stumble upon the ground. Adam watched several blasts from Tanya go around his peripherals and come in direct contact with the monster. He heard her shouts of excitement.
"While he's down!" Tommy said. "Power up to Zeo Megazord, now!"
Adam, Kat, Tanya, Billy, and Tommy all shifted their gears so as to combine their zords together. With each crystal in place on the dashboard, the zords began to take shape and fit together. Within mere moments the five rangers were united together in the cockpit of the Zeo Megazord, with Tommy at the head.
"All right guys, let's finish this monster off! Zeo Megazord Saber!"
From the air manifested a long power blade that Tommy gripped in the hand of the Zeo Megazord. With just the right aim, he managed to slice it right across the monster's chest as it raced toward them. The creature stumbled back and cried out in agony, collapsing back onto an open area of the fairgrounds with a resonating crash. It exploded upon contact, and when the air slowly began to clear, what remained in its place was what looked to be Rocky's car.
"Not so fast are you, huh?" Adam gloated. "That'll teach you to mess with us!"
"That went exceptionally well!" Kat said excitedly. "Even going in without the upper hand, we did it!"
The rangers continued to congratulate themselves as they teleported back to the Power Chamber. There, helmet removed, Adam happily told Rocky about the results.
"I know, babe, I saw it on the viewing globe! My car's still alive!"
Rocky's cheerful reply made Adam feel that much better.
"We need to find a way to get it back to the auto shop without anyone finding out."
"Aye, there's the rub!" Kat came over to Rocky and Adam, giving them a grin. "I've always wanted to say that."
"Got any suggestions?" Rocky asked her. "The fairgrounds are all the way on the other end of the city. I don't know if my car can handle the drive."
"Can't Alpha teleport it back?" Kat asked.
"Oh, right! I completely forgot about that! Alpha!" Rocky turned to face their robotic friend. "Can you please teleport my car to the auto shop so there's no confusion over it disappearing? It'd be terrible if the shop thought it was stolen. My parents would flip!"
"Sure thing, Rocky!" Alpha said. "Teleporting it…now!"
They all watched the screen as the car disappeared from the fairground lot. It was a complete mess thanks to their battle, which made Adam feel just the tiniest bit guilty. He wished that the forces of evil would pick places that weren't as crowded.
"We gotta get you home now," Adam said, nudging Rocky's shoulder. "With your mom watching you like a hawk, she'll be bound to notice you've been gone for so long."
Rocky sighed. "Back to prison I go."
"Not prison, just…house arrest?"
Adam grew embarrassed from Rocky's nonplussed expression. Maybe his answer hadn't been the best. It was the only thing that he could think of at the moment.
"Come on," he said, "Let's head back."