Chapter 6: Stunned
Kimberly and Tommy were sitting off to the side watching Ashley in her dance class. "She's great," Tommy commented.
"She's never much for ballet," Kimberly answered.
Tommy just smirked, not knowing that they were being watched. Tommy reached over, holding his girlfriend's hand and Kimberly leaned against him with a smile.
After her dance class, Kimberly and Tommy walked over to her. "Hey, you were great, Ashley," Tommy told her.
"Thank you," Ashley signed.
"How's about we take you out for dinner since mom is gone?" Kimberly suggested.
Ashley nodded her head enthusiastically, but then Kimberly's watch went off. "Shoot," she muttered, letting out a sigh. Tommy rubbed her arm.
"It's okay," he assured her.
Kimberly looked at Ashley. Ashley gave her sister a small smile before Kimberly rushed off. Tommy looked at Ashley. "Ready?" he asked. She nodded as they left the dance studio.
Walking outside, Ashley opened the door to Tommy's truck to toss her backpack into the backseat. She was suddenly grabbed from behind and she let out a scream. Tommy saw putties behind Ashley, picking her up off the ground. "ASHLEY!" he shouted, running to the other side of the truck. More putties showed up, grabbing Tommy from behind.
Ashley kicked off the truck, trying to gain leverage and pull herself up off the ground and pull them over her head. Instead, another putty grabbed her legs. Before Tommy could reach her, she disappeared in a flash of light.
Kimberly was staring at the viewing globe, Ashley was stuck behind a force field. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. "It seems that Rita has decided to take Ashley and has placed her in the cave of despair in order to gain control of her mind," Zordon informed them.
"Where are the caves?" Jason asked.
"They are high into the mountains, Goldar will be heavily guarding it's entrance with an army of putties and a monster," Zordon replied.
Kimberly rubbed her hands together nervously. "Let's go get her," she insisted. Jason nodded in agreement.
"IT'S MORPHIN TIME!" Jason shouted.
"MASTADON!"
"PTERODACTYL!"
"TRICERATOPS!"
"SABER-TOOTH TIGER!"
"TYRANNOSAURS!"
In the caves, Ashley was pacing around nervously, jumping whenever she accidentally bumped into the force field. She let out a yelp, rubbing her help. She could feel a lot of sadness trying to engulf her but she shook her head slowly. She looked around for a weak spot in the force field. She bit her lower lip, taking a rock that was next to her feet she tossed it again and again. She covered her face whenever the rock bounced off the force field and she felt the rock nearly hit her in the head.
She tossed the rock up into the air, smiling when the rock went over the force field and landed on the other side. She saw the big, gold flying monkey standing outside and she could hear the Power Rangers arriving to fight him. She looked to her right at the rock wall and started to climb up it, being careful not to slip and fall into the force field.
Kimberly did a back hand spring as the monster that was shaped like a wolf swung at her with its lance. "Kimberly, go get Ashley!" Jason called out.
"Right!" she answered, running into the cave.
Ashley jumped down and saw the Pink Ranger enter the cave when the monster grabbed her from behind. The Pink Ranger spun around and kicked the monster in the chest, but the monster grasped her ankle, throwing her backwards. The Pink Ranger attempted to grab her blaster, but the blaster was kicked out of her hand and it slid across the floor.
Thinking quickly, Ashley ran over to grab the blaster while the monster grabbed the Pink Ranger, slamming her up against the wall.
Kimberly let out a grunt of pain, she felt her helmet pop when her head collided into the rock wall. "Oh no!" she gasped. The monster wrapped its fist around her throat, cutting off her airway. Suddenly, she heard a blaster fire and the monster rolled away from Kimberly shouting in pain. Kimberly looked over and she saw Ashley standing there with her blaster. Kimberly ran over to the girl when the monster stood up.
The monster stood up and opened his long jaw, black magic left his mouth and towards them. Jason jumped in their path with his sword raised and he had on Tommy's armor, protecting him. Kimberly and Ashley pushed on his back, their feet sliding across the dirt ground. "HANG ON!" Kimberly shouted.
"LET'S PUT THEM TOGETHER!" Jason called out when the monster ran out of energy.
Kimberly turned towards Ashley. "Step back!" she called to the girl. Ashley nodded, running behind the nearest rock wall as the other Power Rangers entered the cave.
"POWER AXE!"
"POWER BOW!"
"POWER DAGGERS!"
"POWER LANCE!"
"POWER SWORD!"
Ashley watched in amazement as their weapons came together creating an even bigger weapon. They fired an energy beam into the monster and it exploded with a howl. Ashley covered her eyes, but when she lowered her arms, her eyes went wide when she saw the Pink Ranger's helmet laying on the ground. "Oh, no!" Kimberly gasped as she bent down to pick the helmet up.
Kimberly looked up and hers and Ashley's eyes locked. Ashley stared at her in disbelief as she stepped out from behind the rock wall. "Oh great…" Kimberly muttered.
"It was you all along?" Ashley signed.
Kimberly bit her lower lip, looking at the others. Slowly, Ashley watched as each Ranger removed their helmets, revealing her friends. Ashley was completely dumbfounded, everything made sense. Their watches going off, the way they would disappear just as monsters would arrive, and why those gray putty things would attack whenever they had the chance. "You're the Power Rangers!" she signed.
"Yes," Kimberly replied.
Jason reached for Ashley's hand but she backed up away from them, she couldn't help but feel betrayed by their lies. "Listen, we can explain later but we have to get out of here," Jason insisted. Ashley looked around but then she reluctantly agreed and they rushed out of the caves.
They made their way back to the park and Ashley was sitting on her swing when Tommy showed up. "What happened?" Tommy asked.
"She knows," Kimberly replied.
Tommy looked over at Ashley. "Oh man…" he muttered, "Is she okay?"
"She's in shock, and who can blame her?" Zack answered.
Kimberly twisted her ring around on her finger as she looked at Tommy. "Does Zordon know?" he asked.
"Probably, but I think he's just giving us a moment to make sure she's okay before bringing her to the Command Center," Jason explained.
Tommy nodded as he walked over to Ashley.
Ashley looked up as Tommy walked over and she swung back and forth a little. "Hey," he greeted gently as he sat in the swing next to hers. Ashley looked at her friend.
"You're a Power Ranger too?" she signed.
"I used to be," he replied, "Rita drained me of my powers, I had just enough time to pass them over to Jason before she could take control completely."
Ashley looked at the ground. "You know they never meant to lie to you," he told her gently, "They just have their own rules they have to follow."
"I know," she signed, "For some reason, I always felt like I knew but I didn't want to believe it."
Tommy rested his hand on her shoulder and Ashley looked at Kimberly and stood up from the swing. Tommy wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked back up the hill.
Kimberly held her arms open for Ashley, Ashley wrapped her arms around Kimberly's waist and the two sisters embraced tightly.
Later, they teleported her to the Command Center. Ashley looked around in disbelief and she let out an audible gasp. They saw the huge smile on her face as she raced around to look at all of the machines and computers that surrounded the room. "She loves this," Trini commented.
"Very much so," Billy agreed as Trini gave him a smile.
Alpha walked around the corner. "Oh good, you're here!" he said excitedly, "Ai, yi, yi, we were getting anxious." Ashley walked around Alpha curiously. It was a real walking, talking robot! Her father would've loved this!
Ashley stared at Alpha, reaching out slowly, she poked him in the shoulder a couple of times. "He's real," she signed to the group as they laughed lightly.
"He's very real," Zack answered.
"Welcome, Ashley," Zordon greeted, making Ashley look up.
Ashley's brown eyes grew even wider when she saw Zordon. "I am Zordon of Eltar, I have to say it is an honor to meet you, Ashley. I had the opportunity to meet your father many years ago," Zordon informed the girl. Ashley's stomach twisted a little.
"You knew my, dad?" she signed.
"I did, he was a good man," Zordon replied, "I was sorry to hear about his untimely passing."
Ashley lowered her eyes to the floor. "He very much enjoyed learning about Eltar and other galaxies. He had very much hoped to one day explore them," Zordon added. Ashley lifted her eyes back to him. "Now that you know the truth, I must uphold you to the same promise that he had made. You must never reveal the identity of the Power Rangers and the location of our Command Center, no one must ever know," Zordon informed her, "Will you keep everything you see a secret?"
Ashley looked around, walking in a circle before looking back at Zordon. "May I come and explore your Command Center?" she signed.
"Yes," Zordon replied.
"I promise," Ashley signed immediately with a smile.
Kimberly embraced Ashley and the two girls laughed a little as they held onto each other. Zordon just smiled, staring at the young girl as the team happily welcomed her into their world.