Chapter 8:Reunited

Andros braced himself internally as blue and white light sparkled onto the bridge. He hated crowds, and he hated letting strangers onto his ship. This wasn't going to be easy, but it had to be done. Now if Zhane would stop giving him that sympathetic look, he'd be fine.

He frowned as soon as he saw the second person T.J. had brought. "I thought you were going to bring the former Earth Rangers here."

T.J. looked slightly guilty. "I did, but when I got Tommy, I found out there were more than just the first Turbo Rangers."

"How many more?" he asked suspiciously.

T.J. winced. "Six? Sorry, Andros."

Andros frowned at another sympathetic look. His crowd phobia was becoming noticeable. That wasn't good.

Zhane bounced over to them with a broad grin, trying to distract everyone from Andros. "I'm Zhane, Silver Astro Ranger!" he announced cheerfully.

The two beside T.J. smiled. "Tommy."

"Jason."

Andros hid his surprise, but Zhane handled things a bit more tactfully. "So what are your designations?"

"Designations?" Tommy echoed uncertainly.

"Ranger Designations," he explained patiently. "What Rangers are you?"

They exchanged looks. "I was the first Red Ranger, and Gold Ranger," Jason said at last.

"Green, White, and Red Rangers," Tommy informed him.

Zhane looked bewildered, and T.J. tried not to smile.

"In space, Ranger Designations are color and team," a voice commented from the doorway. "For instance, T.J. is the Blue Astro and former Red Turbo Rangers."

Both of their new guests snapped around to greet the first. "Billy!"

He smiled as he was swept up into two enthusiastic hugs. "It is good to see you both," he told them sincerely, although his gaze seemed slightly off.

Tommy frowned instantly. "What's with all the formality, Billy?"

"Do you have a concussion?" Jason asked suspiciously.

Billy's smiled widened slightly. "Forgive me, Tommy. My life is quite formal these days, and my speech has altered as a result. To answer your question Jason, yes, I am recovering from the effects of a concussion."

"What happened?" Jason demanded, instantly looking protective and concerned at the same time.

Billy's expression became slightly pained. "It is a story I would prefer to hold off telling until everyone has arrived."

"Do you want to sit down, my lord?" Zhane asked in concern.

"Thank you," he said gratefully, sinking into the chair at navigations. He eyed the younger boy after a moment. "And Zhane, I have requested multiple times that you refrain from calling me 'lord'. My preference for being termed as simply 'Billy' is beyond definition."

Zhane shrugged sheepishly. "Old habits die hard?" he offered.

Black and white sparkled behind him. "You couldn't have mentioned there were more of you earlier?" Carlos complained to the boy beside him. Adam, Andros remembered. He'd helped Carlos out before.

Adam looked amused. "It's not something that comes up in casual conversation. I didn't think it'd become an issue."

"Not until the first reunion, at least," the one with them interjected.

"Seems like that's happening sooner than we thought it would," Tommy commented.

The new boy's face lit up instantly. "Tommy! Jason! Good to see you guys!"

Adam smiled faintly as he shook Jason's hand. "Too bad it's not in better circumstances."

The light faded from the new boy's expression, but yellow and white sparkles distracted them all.

"Hi, guys," Ashley said cheerfully. "I brought more friends."

Cassie sparkled into existence with three more people. "Is that everybody?" she asked, glancing around and then back at the tall blond for reassurance.

"That's everybody," Tommy confirmed.

Before anything one else could get a word in, the shorter girl of Cassie's group marched straight up to Tommy and slugged him in the shoulder. "Knock it off," she informed him crossly.

He held up his hands in defense, perplexed. "Knock what off?"

Her hands moved to her hips. "I've known you for five years, Tommy Oliver. I know better than anyone that you're on another guilt trip over this."

The one Carlos had brought groaned. "Man Tommy, give it a rest already. Everything that goes wrong in the universe is not your fault!"

"I still say Rita's spell included something about feeling guilty for the rest of his life," the boy with Cassie commented.

"I thought you were getting over that, Bro," Jason reprimanded gently.

Tommy sighed, rolling his eyes and throwing his hands up in the air. "I give up! You all win! I admit it! I think everything wrong in the universe is all my fault. Do you feel better now?"

"I'll feel better when you stop," the brunette retorted. She glanced back at the rest of the group, her face lighting up instantly. She ran to one of the girls Ashley had brought with a cry of "Trini!" bursting into tears as they hugged. "I've missed you guys so much!"

"Man Kim, ease up on the waterworks," the boy from her group teased gently.

She gave him a dismissive wave. "I'm just so happy to see everyone together again," she sniffled.

Andros cleared his throat, reminding himself to take mental notes on everything. "I think introductions are in order. I'm Andros of KO-35, Red Astro Ranger."

Ashley smiled warmly as she moved to stand beside him. "Ashley, Yellow Astro Ranger, former Yellow Turbo Ranger."

"T.J., Blue Astro Ranger, former Red Turbo Ranger."

"Cassie, Pink Astro Ranger, former Pink Turbo Ranger."

"Carlos, Black Astro Ranger, former Green Turbo Ranger."

Zhane waved from his perch on the console beside Billy's chair. "We sound like the Ignis Rangers. I'm Silver. Call me Zhane."

Andros resisted the urge to twitch.

Billy smiled beside him. "I am already familiar with everyone here, although in future reference for the Earth Rangers, introductions in space include your Ranger Color and Designation. I myself am Billy Cranston of Earth, former Blue Ninja Ranger, Blue Thunder Ranger, and Blue Dino Ranger, for example."

There was a general assortment of blinking.

"Okay, I'm Kimberly, but people call me Kim sometimes," she ventured finally, wiping away the last of her tears. "I think I'm everything Billy said, but in Pink."

"Jason. Uh, Gold Zeo? Red Dino, and whatever the second one was. Red."

Trini chuckled. "Trini, Yellow Thunder and Yellow Dino Rangers."

The boy with Cassie shrugged. "Zack. I was with Trini, so I guess that makes me Black Thunder and Black Dino."

"Tommy, Green Dragon - um, Dino Ranger?" He hesitated until Billy nodded and tried not to smile. "White Ti - Thunder Ranger, White Ninja, Red Zeo, and Red Turbo." The last two references sounded a lot more confident than the first group.

"Rocky, Red Di - wait, Thunder Ranger, Red Ninja, and Blue Zeo." He looked slightly sheepish at the mistake.

"Aisha, Yellow Ninja and Yellow Thunder," she declared confidently.

"Adam, Green Turbo, Green Zeo, Black Ninja, and Black Thunder," he recited carefully, then blinked. "Man, I've got almost as many forms as Tommy. I didn't realize I was that old."

"Thanks for the support, Adam," Tommy said dryly.

"Anytime."

"I'm Tanya, Yellow Turbo and Yellow Zeo," she interjected, rolling her eyes at her former teammates.

"Kat, Pink Turbo, Pink Zeo, and Pink Ninja."

Andros nodded at the last name, reminding himself to write down those mental notes. "I suppose L - I mean, Billy, and Zhane would be the best to explain everything," he decided after a moment of thought.

Zhane glanced at Billy. "You want me to go first?"

Billy smiled. "By all means."

Zhane took a deep breath. "Okay, the story, as it was told to me, is that centuries ago a prophecy was written about the Power Rangers. The prophecy goes like this:

Courage learns Cruelty, Fighter to Sorceress

Commander becomes Mercenary, Artist then Destroyer, Spirit turns Killer

Honor fades to Thievery, Healing gives Pain, Heart comes to Hate

Knowledge faces Betrayal, and Light turns to Darkness"

"That makes sense," Rocky commented, rolling his eyes. Adam elbowed him.

"It's referring to Ranger colors," Zhane informed them. "Translated into the Morphin' Philosophy, it says Red, Green, Gold, Black, White, Purple, Yellow, Pink, Blue, and Silver. Every color becomes it's opposite, like a Green Fighter turning into a Sorceress. Greens hate magic; it goes against everything they stand for."

Tommy ignored the knowing grin Zack shot him.

"Everyone pretty much agrees that means that Rangers will turn evil. Unfortunately, that's all anyone knows about it. The prophecy has been slowly coming true for the past couple centuries. It wasn't all that noticeable until about the time the White Ninjetti Ranger fell. It was usually decades in between turnings until then, but Purple went right after that. Yellow and Pink were almost at the same time." He frowned. "I still don't get how a Pink could be a Dark Ranger. It's a *Pink*," he muttered to himself, as though that explained everything.

Andros gave him an irritated look.

"Right. Anyway, basically it came down to Blue and Silver. And since Blue's gone, they'll be looking for Silver pretty soon, to complete the ranks." His voice remained nonchalant, as though his own color had nothing to do with this.

"Where are all the Silver Rangers?" Tommy spoke up. "Maybe if we can protect them - "

"You're looking at him," Zhane interrupted, his smile almost bitter for once. "Silver and Gold are rare Colors. The Lord of Triforia is the only Gold Ranger these days. There used to be another Silver, but she hasn't been seen for centuries."

"They have already started to make their move," Billy spoke up. "Zeus attacked me as I retired to my rooms several nights ago. When I awoke, he was standing over me. The details are still rather indistinct, but I am aware that he took something from me that has left me feeling particularly drained. I remember another was there, but I could not see their face. He laughed and said to warn my friends, then proceeded to fire upon me with a blaster. When I awoke again, I found myself in the Medical Bay of the Astro Megaship with Ashley."

"He shot you?" Jason demanded incredulously.

"No way," Tanya said instantly, shaking his head. "That wasn't Justin. He *hates* hurting people. He didn't even really like destroying monsters!"

"Spells can be pretty powerful, Tanya," Adam told her. "They make you do things you'd never do otherwise."

Tommy and Kat exchanged pain-filled glances.

"So what do we do about it?" Trini asked softly

"You wait for me to finish with you," a voice answered cheerfully. "Thanks for bringing everyone together for me, guys. Now I don't have to track anyone down!"

Everyone spun around to see Zeus leaning against the doorway of the Megalift. "Crap, you guys are slow," he informed them, looking amused. "I've been standing here for almost ten minutes. You didn't even notice when I disabled Alpha and the computer system." He jerked a thumb back over his shoulder to where Alpha was sparking, his lights dimmed.

"Justin?" Kat asked incredulously, staring.

He smirked. "Call me Zeus."

"Justin, please," Tommy took a step forward. "You don't want to do this."

"We're your friends, Justin," Adam tried. "Talk to us."

"Friends?" Zeus repeated. His eyes narrowed, and black lightning crackled at his fingertips. "You call yourselves my *friends*? You don't even know the *meaning* of friendship!" With a yell of rage, the lightning shot out and surrounded everyone. They screamed in pain as it closed in, trapping them all in a tight circle.

Zeus seemed to force himself to calm down, and began to smirk again as he walked around them. "Now, lessee ... "

He looked over the group, seeming to do a mental calculation. "Red, two Yellows, Pink, and ... " He frowned, his gaze seeming to search through them all again. At last he shrugged. "That'll have to do for Green, since there's only one White. Purple ... purple ... " He twisted his mouth to the left in another one of Justin's usual annoyed concentration expressions then shrugged again; a disturbing reminder of who their enemy really was. "They said Red and Pink would work, so that'll have to do. Don't need Blue anymore ... "

He brightened again. "Ooh, guess what I can do now!"

Black lightning began to crackle around his fingers, building up into a blinding flash of light. A holding cell in a dark corridor formed around the group. As they looked around it was immediately apparent that there wasn't much to the area; the empty hallway connected a door at one end, then went straight into their prison.

It was also apparent that Jason, Kimberly, Aisha, Tanya, Adam, T.J., Carlos, and Andros were missing.

"Where are the others?" Tommy demanded angrily.

Zeus laughed at him. "I wouldn't worry about it, Tommy. Kimberly doesn't want you anyway, so what should you be worried about her for?" He faked an expression of realization, pretending to be startled. "Oh, wait. That's right ... Kat didn't want you either."

Rocky stepped forward, staring directly into Zeus' eyes. "Why, Justin?" he asked quietly.

Zeus answered him with a bright smile, his eyes almost seeming to sparkle. "Don't worry Rocky; I'll give Adam back to you when I'm done with him. No promises about what shape he'll be in though."

"Justin ... " Kat tried. "Why are you - "

"Because I hate you all." The smile hadn't faded, but his eyes were cold. "I hate you for everything you've done. You deserve this. All of you." He turned, and walked away, leaving them alone in the cold, dark cell.

Tommy immediately tried to grab the bars on their prison, only to be knocked flying by a powerful burst of energy. Kat and Zack ran to help him and found him only slightly stunned by the impact. He managed to stand, though they held him steady for a few moments longer just to be sure he was truly all right.

"Let's rocket!" Zhane tried, entering his code into his Digimorpher. Nothing happened. He muttered something under his breath. "He must have some sort of morphing shield on this prison. We're stuck."

The remaining nine Rangers stared at one another dismally as it suddenly occurred to them that this time, there would be no reinforcements. Zordon and Dimitria were long gone, along with Alpha 5. Alpha 6 and D.E.C.A. were disabled. Their only possible allies left had no idea where they were or what was going on.

Rocky promptly found a corner to sit in, hugging his knees as he looked miserable. Tommy began to pace back and forth, while Kat tried to get him to calm down. Zack and Trini tended to Billy, who wasn't looking well, and the remaining Astro Rangers sat down together, too unsure of what to do other than stay close to one another.

All the while, they were afraid to ask Billy exactly what might be happening to the others. Judging by his expression and the way he still couldn't function all that well, they didn't think they wanted to know. The prayer he murmured at one point didn't help their worries.


On an icy planet far from Earth, a young woman jerked up from the console she was monitoring, clutching her heart as she gasped for breath. The pain faded almost immediately, leaving her shaking. Determination entered her eyes, and she spun. "Urado!"


Deep in the darkest reaches of space, a lone stasis pod drifted lazily. White light glimmered from within, and the pod abruptly changed direction. This time, it moved swiftly with purpose. The occupant continued to sleep.


Phantom Ranger paused as he moved silently through the forests of the planet Eskan. A fist moved to cover his ruby, the gem glowing swiftly in response. "Cassie ... " he breathed. He vanished in a ripple of air.


The peaceful atmosphere of the satellite station orbiting the sister planets was shattered by a young girl as she straightened too abruptly on a catwalk and toppled over backwards with a piercing shriek. She twisted in mid-air to land on her feet easily, looking up as her teammates surrounded her in various states of concern. She yowled plaintively, touching her heart. Almost instantly, barking and angry meowing broke out in argument.


A young, beautiful woman sprawled lazily across a chair, idly rolling a ball of light back and forth between her fingers as the councilman droned on. Her lack of interest was suddenly even more apparent as she straightened, the light ball vanishing. Her eyes closed as her fingertips brushed over her collarbone. Almost immediately she stood, pushing past startled and outraged council members on her way to the chamber door.

A man barred her path; barely her senior, but most certainly one of her dearest friends. Their eyes met, and both nodded. With no word to the angry group behind them, they left for the ship dock.