Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 4

by jasonstoneface

A continuation of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Takes place immediately after "Rangers in Reverse." FINISHED

10. Back to Dino, Part III

BACK TO DINO, PART THREE

Lord Zedd and Rita watched Trini as she battled the Putties and Tengas that were spread throughout the city. Fighting-wise, she hadn't lost a step in her absence.

Meanwhile, Scorpina was getting her wound treated by Finster. The small scientist said, "My goodness! That small blade on that small staff cut you quite deep! It cut through your armor as if it was nothing."

Goldar snarled as he watched. "I promise you, Scorpina, that Gold Ranger will pay!" Goldar had made up his mind: he DID love Scorpina. He was a servant of evil, but he loved her nevertheless. He was steadfastly loyal to Lord Zedd, and nothing would change that, but now, he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that evil truly could love. He would never say this out loud, but he would always love Scorpina. He would never marry, but he still loved her nevertheless. 'She will pay, Scorpina,' Goldar thought to himself. 'She will pay.' That was as close as he would ever come to expressing his love for her.

Back on the battlefield, Trini continued to battle the Putties and the Tengas, using the energy spheres from her staff only as a last resort. Still watching her, Rita whined, "Zeddy, that has-been is beating up the Putties AND the Tengas all by herself!"

"That may be so, Rita," said Zedd, "but she's also wearing herself down."

"But what about her zord?" asked Rita. "That pyramid could mean trouble for us."

"Agreed. Let's have Finster create a weak monster. Just to see what it can do. Perhaps then we'll be able to find its weakness."

"An excellent idea, Zedd," screeched Rita. She turned and cried, "Finster!"

"Yes, my queen?" asked Finster as he rushed into the throne room out of breath.

"Create a weak monster for me. I want to see what the Gold Ranger's zord can do."

This surprised Finster. Never before had he been asked to create a weak monster before. However, he understood what Rita meant as he realized that she was perhaps trying to find a weakness to the Gold Ranger's zord. "As you wish, Empress Rita," he acknowledged before going back to his lab.

Trini teleported into the Command Center, out of breath. Alpha approached her and asked, "Trini, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," answered the Gold Ranger. "I just hope the others get back soon."

Zordon said, "ALPHA, PREPARE THE MEDICAL TABLE. TRINI, I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO LIE DOWN. AFTER FIGHTING FOR ALMOST AN HOUR, YOU WILL NEED ALL THE REST YOU CAN GET."

Trini nodded as Alpha got the table ready. She laid down and took advantage of whatever breathing time she could get.

Trini had barely been lying down for fifteen minutes when the alarms went off again. She immediately got up and approached the Viewing Globe. "What now?" she asked.

"Ay, yi, yi!" said Alpha. "A new monster has grown in downtown Angel Grove!"

"I'll take him out," said Trini.

Concerned, Zordon asked, "TRINI, ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE UP TO THIS?"

"I have to be," said the tired Gold Ranger with determination. "I'm the only chance the city has right now."

"VERY WELL. GO NOW, AND MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU."

Trini nodded and said, "Back to action!"

Trini arrived where the new monster, a bird-monster, flew over the city. The Gold Ranger held up the Gold Power Staff and cried, "I call upon the Power of Pyramidas!"

The pyramid-like zord emerged from its hiding place in the mountains. Trini leaped into the cockpit and said, "Pyramidas, power up!"

Pyramidas rolled towards the bird-monster. It cawed and attacked Pyramidas with its talons and beak. As the bird-monster took to the skies again, Trini declared, "It's time your feathers were plucked!" A gold beam was fired from the tip on top, knocking the bird out of the sky and sending it crashing to the ground. As it cawed and tried to get to its feet, Trini cried, "Pyramidas, fire!"

A blue energy beam shot into the sky. Lightning bolts then struck the ground, each bolt moving closer and closer to the bird-monster. Just as the bird-monster realized what was going on, one of the lightning bolts struck it. It cawed one last time, fell to the ground, and exploded.

"Something tells me that was too easy," Trini said to herself before she made her way back to the Command Center.

The unconscious Rangers were slowly coming around. Tommy was the first to get his bearings as he realized that he and his friends were being held by energy bonds. He silently hoped they were inside the volcano even though at the moment they appeared to be in the cave. As the others regained consciousness, they all mumbled and moaned as they too realized that they had been bound. "Oh, my aching head," said Jenny.

"Are you guys alright?" asked Tommy.

"I will be asking the questions around here," said a voice. The Rangers looked and saw the ghostly old man that they had seen earlier materialize in front of them. He walked toward the seven teens with a neutral expression on his face. "Who are you?"

Tommy spoke up for everyone. "We are. . . well, we WERE the Power Rangers of Earth. Scorpina, a servant of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, destroyed our zords and powers with the Sword of Kismet. Our mentor Zordon sent us here to seek the Morphin Mage in hopes that he could restore our powers."

"Zordon of Eltar?" asked the old man. He then took a long hard look at each Ranger and noticed how young they were, especially Jenny. "You all seem rather young to be among Zordon's chosen few. I find this hard to believe." He fired his staff at the bonds, freeing the Rangers.

"You know Zordon?" asked a surprised Kat.

"Know him?" asked the old man with a laugh. "My dear, Zordon is known all over the universe. But I refuse to allow children to be given such power. Power such as this is not to be taken lightly. Leave Zircon, before it is too late."

"It may already be too late," said Jenny.

"Who are you?" asked Rocky.

"Why, the Morphin Mage, of course." This got a gasp from the Rangers. "But do you really think you seven could possibly be worthy of eternal Ranger Power?"

"Eternal Ranger Power?" asked a surprised Adam. He asked the others, "Didn't Ninjor say he got a glimpse of the future when he died?"

"Ninjor?" asked the Mage.

"Yes, he did," said Billy. "He said we would receive eternal power."

"How could this be?" asked the Mage in surprise. "Only one has ever proven worthy of the power. Everyone else has failed."

"Would that one have been an ancestor to Trey of Triforia?" asked Aisha.

"Triforia?" asked the Mage, surprised again.

"Yes," said Tommy. "The Triforian race is extinct now. Trey saved us from Scorpina and passed on his powers to one of our friends before he died. He was the one who gave us the map, showing us where to find you."

Finally, the Mage gave in. "Very well. If so many believe you to be worthy, you must receive your powers as soon as possible. If we do not hurry, your planet is doomed. Follow me."

All walked towards a passageway. The next room they entered, they saw that there was no ceiling above. The sun was shining through. Apparently, they WERE in the volcano. The Mage turned towards the Rangers and tapped his staff on the ground. The Rangers were momentarily startled as they began to descend downward. Once they touched ground, the Mage stepped off the platform and began walking through an underground passageway, the Rangers close behind. They finally came to a large, square room. All around were statues of other elderly men and women. There was a circle in the center of the room.

The Morphin Mage stepped into the center of the circle. "Gather around me." Each of the Rangers did as they were told. Once they were in position, the Mage raised his staff. Lightning-like energy bolts came from the staff, a bolt landing at the feet of each Ranger. Once they struck, the Mage and the seven Rangers began to rise up on pillars.

When they finally stopped, the Morphin Mage said, "Each of you has served your planet as Power Rangers. Circumstances have forced you to seek me out, to seek eternal power. As with all others in the past, you must prove yourself worthy of the power. Each of you will undergo a trial, a trial that will determine if you are indeed worthy of being called the Power Rangers. Now, close your eyes and concentrate." The seven teens each did what they were told. The Mage closed his eyes as well, as white light came from his staff, enveloping everyone in blackness.

Billy opened his eyes and realized that he was at the Youth Center. That was strange, but what was stranger was that the place was completely empty. He saw that he was on the sparring mats. But before he could figure out what was going on, a voice said, "Move it, dweeb!"

Billy turned to the source of the voice and realized that it had come from Tommy! Jenny was alongside him, both with hateful expressions on their faces. Billy just stared at them in confusion. Finally, Jenny waved her hand and said, "Hello? Did you hear my brother? He said move it!"

"You never should have been a Ranger," said a voice from behind. Billy turned and realized that it had come from Rocky. Adam and Aisha were close by, all three of them looking just as mad as the Oliver siblings. "You never could cut it," said Rocky. "And you still can't!"

Aisha said, "At least when Jenny joined the team, she knew how to fight. You? You couldn't even defend yourself!"

"The only reason Zordon picked you was because of your brains," added Adam.

"He also picked you because you were the only one available," said an accented voice. Billy already knew that it belonged to Kat. He turned to her as she said, "Exactly what he saw in you at that time, I'll never know."

"I don't even know why I stood by you all that time," said another voice. Billy turned and his jaw dropped. Even Trini was in on this! Billy felt like crying, but he was determined not to let it happen. The Asian girl said, "There were so many battles we could have won without you. And so many monsters we could have finished off more quickly if we hadn't had to worry about your sorry butt."

Billy hung his head. He couldn't believe he was hearing this from all of his friends, especially Trini, the one who had stood by him through thick and thin. The girl that he thought would be his girlfriend. But he knew that every word they had said was true. He HAD been a hindrance in the beginning. But his mind had made up for so much of what he lacked physically. It also. . . wait a minute. It was then that it occurred to him. He looked up and smiled. He slowly started chuckling. The others looked at him with confused expressions on their faces. Jenny asked, "Why are you smiling?"

"And why are you laughing?" asked Aisha.

Still chuckling, Billy answered, "You're right. In the beginning, I couldn't fight. Not unless I was morphed. But you all helped me improve my martial arts skills, remember? And you're right, there were a lot of battles that you could have won without me. But there were also a lot of battles that you could have LOST without me. If it weren't for my scientific genius, Rita and Zedd would have run this planet into the ground a long time ago. So, I guess you should thank me for being as smart as I am." Billy smiled one more time as the others looked at each other dumbfounded. Then the scene disappeared, surprising Billy.

The next thing he knew, he was surrounded by a blue light. The Morphin Mage appeared before him and smiled. He said, "Congratulations, William. You have conquered your greatest fear: Being rejected and unappreciated by your friends. Now, take that which is yours." He then disappeared.

In a flash, Billy's helmet appeared on his head. Then, his Blue Ranger suit began to materialize from his head down to his toes. It was identical to the uniform he was so accustomed to wearing, but he felt power like he had never felt before! He looked at his gloved hands in amazement and then heard the sound of a beast. What he saw came as a shock to him: It was his old Triceratops Dinozord! He then heard the Morphin Mage say, "The power of the Triceratops is yours once again, Blue Ranger. May it guide you well in your battle against evil." Billy smiled underneath his helmet as the Triceratops let out its battle cry once again. And then, everything went black.

Jenny was standing in the Youth Center on the sparring mats, wearing the karate gear that she wore in Tommy's class. She wondered why she was wearing it. She then heard a voice say, "Hey, get out of here!"

Jenny turned and gasped as she saw the person who had just spoken to her. "Tommy?" she asked confused. He was surrounded by the other kids in his class. "What's going on here?"

"I kicked you out of my class, remember?" said her older brother. "You're not good enough. You never were, and you never will be!"

Not many people knew this, but Jenny had a major inferiority complex when she was younger. Growing up, she wanted to be like Tommy, but didn't feel she was good enough. Neither Tommy nor their parents had said it to her face, but she'd always feared that they would. That was one of the reasons her parents encouraged her to take martial arts classes: To get over this feeling of insignificance. Tommy continued to taunt her. "You started taking martial arts because you wanted to be like me. But guess what, little girl? You're not! You'll never be as good as me! You'll never amount to anything!"

Tommy continued to taunt her as Jenny fell to her knees and began to cry. "No," she said to herself. Everything else Tommy was saying fell on deaf ears as all the fears that she thought she'd conquered were coming back in full force.

"Are you listening to me?" asked Tommy hatefully as he forced Jenny to look him in the eye. "You're. Not. Good. Enough."

Tears still rolling down her face, Jenny's broken voice said, "Yes. I am." Her voice got stronger as she screamed, "I AM GOOD ENOUGH!" She then kicked Tommy down, surprising the other students. "I AM GOOD ENOUGH! I AM GOOD ENOUGH!" She kept beating Tommy up, screaming the same thing over and over again. Jenny finally stopped when she realized that Tommy's blood was getting all over her fists. "No. NO!" She pulled Tommy into a hug, crying still with her eyes closed. "I'm sorry, Tommy. I just wanted to prove myself to you. Please be alright. Please." Jenny was startled when Tommy as well as everyone and everything else vanished, causing her to open her eyes and stand up.

Suddenly, Jenny was engulfed in a green light. The Morphin Mage appeared and said, "Congratulations, Jennifer. You have faced your fear of inferiority and come out victorious. You have indeed shown bravery, strength, and wisdom beyond your years." The Mage smiled and disappeared.

Jenny's helmet appeared on her head in a flash. As with Billy, her Green Ranger uniform began to materialize, giving her power stronger than the Ninja power! She looked at herself and smiled beneath her helmet. A roar then pulled her out of her reverie. She couldn't believe what she was seeing! "Dragonzord!" she exclaimed. "I thought I'd lost you, old buddy!"

Jenny then heard the Mage say, "May the strength of the Dragonzord serve you well, Green Ranger." The Dragonzord roared again before blackness fell.

Aisha opened her eyes. She looked around and realized that she was in the same cave that she, Adam, and Rocky had been in when they were captured by Lord Zedd after moving to Angel Grove. She saw that nobody was there but her. Or so she thought.

"Hello, Aisha," said a voice. Adam's voice. She turned and saw her two best friends standing in front of her. But this was definitely not the same Adam Park and Rocky DeSantos that she knew. She noticed their eyes, pupils and all were very dark. Adam gave an evil smirk and asked, "So, what do you think?"

Aisha was at a loss for words. Finally, she managed to ask, "Wh. . . what happened to you guys?" She silently hoped that this wasn't what would have happened if they had been bitten by Zedd's Serpent of Darkness.

"We're Lord Zedd's henchmen now, stupid," said Rocky. "You were supposed to be one too, but for some reason, that snake slithered off of you and bit us first."

"That's impossible!" exclaimed Aisha in disbelief. "That snake was destroyed!"

"Guess again," said Adam as he pulled the snake out from behind him. He and Rocky slowly trekked towards her. "Come now, be one of us. You wouldn't hurt your two best friends now, would you?"

"No," answered Aisha. "I don't want to fight you. But I will if you force my hand."

"Oh, come on, Aisha," taunted Rocky. "You know you can't beat us. Why don't you just join us and get it over with?"

As Adam inched closer with the snake, Aisha suddenly kicked it out of Adam's hands and away from her. "I said no."

"You're going to wish you hadn't done that," snarled Adam. He charged, but Aisha kicked him away. She then roundhouse-kicked Rocky and ran towards the exit. She stopped to see them coming towards her. Aisha then punched Rocky in the face and kicked Adam down. When they got up, she knocked them both out by kicking them simultaneously.

With both of them unconscious, Aisha got to her knees and said to them regretfully, "Sorry, guys, but you gave me no choice. I'll find a way to bring both of you back, I promise." She closed her eyes and let a tear fall as the scene disappeared, snapping her back to reality and causing her to stand up.

Aisha was then surrounded by a yellow light. She saw the Morphin Mage appear, a smile on his face. He said, "Well done, Aisha. Conquering your greatest fear, losing your two best friends to the cause of evil, has proven your worth." He disappeared.

A flash later, Aisha's helmet appeared on her head. She watched with wide eyes as her Yellow Ranger uniform slowly materialized onto her body, the same process that Billy and Jenny had already gone through. She could feel power stronger than she had ever known. She was looking at herself in awe, when a roar got her attention. She looked up and gasped as a huge yellow machine stood before her. She then heard the mage say, "The power of the Saber-Toothed Tiger is yours, Yellow Ranger." Aisha smiled underneath her helmet as the zord roared again. She didn't notice blackness falling around her.

Rocky woke up and rubbed his eyes. Once he got his bearings, he realized he was in an empty Youth Center, sitting at the Rangers' usual table. He was confused, but he really didn't know what to do. So he just sat there and waited.

"Hey, Rocky," said a female voice. He turned and saw that the voice had come from Aisha, as she made her way to the table, the others close behind, except Trini. They didn't look to be in a good mood.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" he asked confused, not knowing why his friends were looking at him the way they were.

Kat said, "We need to speak to you about your eating problem."

"What eating problem?"

"Look at what you've got on the table," said Adam.

Rocky was confused, but looked anyway. He looked shocked as he realized that the table was covered with all of his favorite foods. That hadn't been there a minute ago! "Did I really order all of that?" he asked in surprise.

Jenny rolled her eyes and asked, "Rocky, how can you be such a pig? Pretty soon, you won't be able to walk, much less fight a Tenga."

"Jen's right, Rocky," agreed Tommy. "Pretty soon, you won't even look like a Ranger with all that weight you're going to put on."

Billy agreed as well. "Affirmative," he said with a nod.

"I did NOT order all of this!" said Rocky defiantly as he got in their faces. He took a deep breath and admitted, "Okay, so I do eat a lot. But that's part of who I am. And I'm NOT going to change that!"

"Suit yourself, Rocky," said Tommy. He then grabbed Rocky's wrist without warning, and they all teleported to the Command Center.

When they got there, Rocky noticed that Zordon was not in his plasma tube. Alpha wasn't there either. "If you're not going to change the way you eat, then it's time we got a new Red Ranger," said Tommy. He turned to an unlit part of the Command Center and said, "You can come out now!"

A figure emerged from the shadows and slowly walked towards the Rangers. Rocky's jaw dropped as he realized who it was. "Jason?"

"That's right," said the original Red Ranger. "I'm taking back what is rightfully mine. I mean, I didn't regret going to the Peace Conference, but what was I thinking when I gave you my power? As soon as Tommy informed me of the situation, I took the first flight home."

"You can't do this to me!" protested Rocky.

"Too late," said Adam.

"Remember, you brought this all upon yourself," said Aisha.

"She's right, Rocky," agreed Kat. "If you had at least TRIED to change your eating habits, none of this would be happening."

Rocky hung his head and said, "I told you, there's more to me than just eating. You're just too blind to see that." He raised his head up and looked around in surprise as the scene vanished.

The next thing Rocky knew, he was engulfed in a red light. The Morphin Mage appeared and said, "Rockwell, you have done it. You have conquered your greatest fear: Rejection and disownment from your friends." He smiled and disappeared.

Once the Mage was gone, Rocky's helmet appeared in a flash, and his Red Ranger outfit materialized onto his body, ala his other three teammates. Rocky looked at himself and smiled as he felt power flow through him that he had never felt before. He looked up when he heard a roar. He looked up in amazement and astonishment as a mechanical tyrannosaurus -rex stood before him. The Mage's voice said, "May the power of the Tyrannosaurus protect you, Red Ranger." The t-rex roared again and then blackness fell.

Adam opened his eyes and found that he was in Angel Grove Park. He turned and saw the other Rangers, minus Trini, playing football. He wondered where she was, but shrugged it off for the moment and walked towards them. "Hey, guys," he said waving to them. This caused them to stop playing.

The others looked at him as if they didn't know him. "Are you Adam Park?" asked Tommy.

"Of course I am," answered Adam, not liking the direction this was going. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm surprised you didn't blush," said Jenny. "Normally, you can't say two words without turning ten shades of red!" Adam looked embarrassed as the others laughed.

Barely able to speak through his laughter, Billy said, "Look at him! He's redder than the surface of Mars!" They laughed harder.

When they quieted down somewhat, Adam said, "I thought we were friends." They laughed again, harder than ever.

"Us? Friends with you?" asked Rocky, trying to control himself. "Give us a break!"

Aisha then asked, "Why would we even THINK about being friends with you?" This hurt Adam coming from the girl he had just started dating. But he tried not to show his pain. Aisha then said, "If you weren't so quiet and shy, maybe we would be."

"Aisha's right," agreed Kat. "Shy people suck! I'd rather listen to Billy's techno-babble than your stuttering!"

Adam felt tears welling up, but he held them back. He finally gathered his courage and said, "If this is how you're going to treat me, then I don't want to be friends with you!" He then turned and stormed off. He was determined not to cry. He'd show them. He'd show them all! He then looked around in astonishment as the scene vanished before his very eyes.

When the scene was gone, Adam was enveloped in a black light. He saw a smiling Morphin Mage appear. "Adam, you have done well. You have conquered your greatest fear of abandonment. And now you are rewarded for it." He smiled again and disappeared.

In a flash, Adam's helmet appeared on his head and he watched as he was clothed in his Black Ranger suit. As power stronger than he had ever felt flowed through his body, his amazement was interrupted by an elephant-like sound. He looked up amazed at what he believed to be his new zord. "Incredible," he whispered to himself.

The disembodied voice of the Morphin Mage then said, "The Mastodon will serve you well, Black Ranger." Adam looked at the zord in astonishment as it gave another cry before blackness succumbed.

Kat opened her eyes and realized that she was in the hallway of the hospital. She didn't understand what she was doing here, but she noticed an open door. She couldn't help but notice that her friends were in the room. Adam and Rocky held Aisha close as she cried, and Billy stood at the foot of the bed, he head hanging down. The four of them were blocking Kat's view so that she couldn't see Tommy. She also wondered where Jenny and Trini were, but decided that now was not a good time to ask. She slowly approached her friends and quietly asked, "What happened here?"

Rocky then glanced over at her with a hateful glare. This surprised her, but not nearly as much as what he said next:

"Why don't YOU tell US what happened. . . MURDERER."

Kat gasped and put her hands over her mouth. Did he really just say what she thought he said? She stuttered, "Wh. . . wh. . . what do you mean?"

Billy then turned to her and said, "Don't give us that! Look!"

He moved out of the way and Kat saw that Tommy was cradling a lifeless body. Kat nearly had heart failure when she realized that it was Kimberly! With his tears dried up, Tommy asked, grief evident in his voice, "How could you, Katherine?" He then asked more angrily, "HOW COULD YOU?"

"How could you have done this to her?" asked Aisha through her tears. "How could you have done this to US? We trusted you!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Kat fearfully.

"As if you don't know," said Adam coldly. Normally, he was the last one to get angry, but his anger was justified here. "Alpha and Zordon saw the whole thing on the Viewing Globe. They were checking up on Kimberly and they saw her fall off the balance beam. They saw you standing there laughing. YOU LAUGHED THE WHOLE TIME!"

"It all makes perfect sense now," said Tommy as he and the others approached her. "You stole Kim's Power Coin, didn't you? You stole the Falconzord, didn't you? You let Rita take control of you!"

"I. . . I'm sorry," said Kat as she sank to her knees and hung her head in shame. Tears began to roll down her face.

"A lot of good that's going do us now," said Billy.

"A lot of good that's going to do Kimberly," added Rocky.

"I know," said Kat as she looked up at them through bloodshot eyes. "But that's all I can say." The tears continued to fall when suddenly, to her surprise, the scene vanished.

Kat slowly stood up and quickly found herself in pink light. The Morphin Mage appeared, smiling. "I congratulate you, Katherine. By conquering your greatest fear of succumbing to Rita Repulsa's influence, you have earned what is rightfully yours." As with the others, he disappeared.

Another flash, and Kat's helmet appeared on her head. Her Pink Ranger outfit also began materializing onto her body. She smiled as the power flowed through her, stronger than before. A cry got her attention and she looked up to see a pink winged machine hovering above. The Mage's voice said, "The power of the Pterodactyl is yours, Pink Ranger. May it protect you in your struggle against evil." Kat beamed with pride as the Pterodactyl cried again before the world went black.

Tommy opened his eyes and looked around. He realized with horror that he was in the Command Center! It was in complete ruins! He looked up and saw Zordon's shattered plasma tube. He knew that his mentor had either somehow escaped or was dead. He stepped away backwards in fear and tripped. He realized that he had tripped over Alpha. Or rather, what was left of him. His robotic friend was in pieces all over the place. "Please be a dream," he said to himself. He closed his eyes in the hopes that he was asleep.

When Tommy opened his eyes, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was now in Angel Grove Park. However, his relief was short-lived when he looked around and saw dead bodies. And not just the bodies of anyone. These were the bodies of the Rangers, or anyone who had ever been a Power Ranger! They were all morphed and helmetless. He approached each one, silently praying for one of them to be alive.

He came upon Trini first. He felt pity for her, for she had been one of the most honorable people she had ever met. He was confused when he saw that she was in her old Yellow Ranger suit instead of her current Gold Ranger uniform, but that didn't matter right now. It didn't take long to find out what had killed her: Her head had been cut off. The expression on her face seemed to be that of pleading, which was something you didn't often see from her. He then approached the next of his fallen friends.

He came upon Zack and immediately saw what had done him in: His Power Axe had been gouged through his chest. His facial expression was one of shock and betrayal.

He then came upon the first Red Ranger: Jason. It wasn't clearly visible as to what had killed him. He approached his best friend and was surprised that his face wasn't as agonizing as the first two. Instead, Jason's eyes reflected the determination he'd had in life. He picked up Jason's body and held it in a hug. That was how close they were. He whispered, "Sorry, bro. I don't know what happened." He put him down and saw that he had dried blood on his hands. He then turned Jason over and saw that the back of his skull had been crushed in. He shivered with fear as he went to check on the next body.

He came up to Aisha and what he saw almost made him puke: He arms, legs, and head had been literally ripped from her body! It was no surprise to him to see her look of pain. He wondered who could have done that to his kind and cheerful friend. He decided he didn't want to find out.

He then came up to Billy and saw almost immediately how he had been killed: His head had been ripped off. That was easy to see, being that when Trini's head had been cut off, the mark of the weapon that had been used was visible. As with Aisha, his face reflected pain.

Next, he approached someone in green, lying face-down. He said to himself, "Oh no. Please don't let it be her." He turned the body over and his hopes were completely shattered. It was indeed Jenny, his sister. He saw a large stab wound in her mid-section, larger than Trey's. He examined it further and realized that, unlike Trey, Jenny had been completely impaled! Someone had stabbed her in the stomach, and the weapon had gone all the way out through her back! The look on her face showed pleading and sadness. Tommy held his sister's lifeless body in a hug, shedding a tear as he did so. He slowly laid her back down to rest.

He saw Adam and Rocky lying near a tree. It was immediately visible that they had both been cut in half, causing Tommy to shiver. Their expressions of shock were almost too much to bear. A glint caught his eye. He turned and noticed the handle of a sword or knife lying nearby, covered in leaves. He picked it up and examined it. Tommy went white as he realized what it was: The Sword of Darkness! The same Sword of Darkness that had bound him to Rita's spell as the evil Green Ranger! "It can't be!" yelled Tommy in fear and disbelief. "This thing was destroyed! Who did this?"

"You," said an accented voice. Tommy slowly turned to see two of the most important people in his life: Kimberly and Kat. He noticed that they were both covered in blood, wearing their Pink Ranger uniforms, and glaring at him hatefully.

Seeing their expressions, Tommy slowly asked, "Wh. . .what happened here?"

Storming up to his face, Kimberly answered, "What Kat said: You! You did all of this!" She then punched him, knocking him down and surprising him. "You killed all of our friends! You even killed your own sister! Why spare us?"

"But. . . if you're not dead. . . why are you covered in blood?" asked Tommy shakily.

"Don't give us that!" scolded Kat. "You know perfectly well why. We showed you the dead bodies of all of our friends, and you laughed the whole time!"

"We thought you loved us," said Kimberly, on the brink of tears. "You let your dark side take control again! How could you?" She then let the tears fall. Kat held her to support her as a few tears fell down her face as well.

Tommy had went white when Kim mentioned his dark side. He stood up and said defensively, "But I learned to control my dark side a long time ago. You helped me to get my life back together, Kimberly. And I DO love you. Both of you."

"Just get out of our lives!" screamed Kat. "We never want to see you again! The Tommy Oliver that we loved is dead and you killed him!" Both of them walked away crying and angry.

As the tears began to well up in his own eyes, Tommy said, "If that is what you think of me, then you are NOT the ones that I fell in love with!" He then closed his eyes and let a tear roll down his cheek. When he looked up, to his surprise, the scene vanished.

Finally, Tommy was engulfed by a white light. He saw the Morphin Mage appear, who said, "Zordon was right in choosing you to be the leader of the Power Rangers, Thomas. By conquering your greatest fear, not being able to control your dark side and rejection from the two women you love the most, you have proven that you are indeed a worthy and strong leader." He smiled and disappeard.

One last flash and Tommy's helmet appeared on his head. Then his White Ranger costume materialized onto his body. He beamed with pride as he felt power unlike anything he had felt in the past flow through him. He heard a roar and looked up. What he saw made him want to cry as his old White Tigerzord stood before him. "Awe man," said Tommy in amazement. "This is awesome."

He heard the Mage say, "You once more control the power of the White Tigerzord, White Ranger." Tommy smiled underneath his helmet as the Tigerzord roared again. And then, blackness fell one last time.

The Rangers all opened their eyes and saw themselves fully morphed, feeling stronger than before.

"We did it!" exclaimed Aisha.

"Morphinomenal!" concurred Billy.

"This is so cool!" said Jenny.

"We're back!" declared Rocky.

"This is amazing," breathed Kat.

"I second you on that!" agreed Adam.

"We got the Power!" said Tommy.

"Congratulations, Rangers," said the Morphin Mage with a smile. "I take it that you are pleased with your new powers and zords?"

"But, Mage," said Billy, "those zords look like our old Dinozords."

"Indeed they do," said the Mage with a nod. "But you will find that these are stronger, sleeker, and more advanced than any zords you have ever piloted or will pilot again. And unlike your Ninja Powers, which were bonded to you Power Coins of old as well as your natural human energy, these powers are bonded to your very souls. You no longer need to call upon Morphers to transform, although you can if you wish, for 'old-time's sake,' as I believe you call it on your planet. These Ranger Powers are eternal. You are among the very few who have been deemed worthy of them. These powers can never be taken from you, no matter what. The only possible way to lose these powers is to pass them on to a successor, or in death. Now, you must return to Earth. I believe your Gold friend could use your help."

"You got it, Mage," said Tommy, giving him the thumbs-up. "Thank you for trusting us with this. We won't let you down. Let's do it, guys!"

"Right!" called the other Rangers in unison. Tommy then touched his belt buckle while the others touched the Morphers on their belts. All seven Rangers teleported away in their respective Ranger colors, ready to save the world once more.

"Good luck, Power Rangers," said the Morphin Mage. He watched them leave before disappearing.

At the Lunar Palace, Zedd and Rita were discussing what they could do to get Trini and Pyramidas out of the way. "How about we recreate some of our strongest monsters," suggested Rita. "Surely six of them should be able to take down one lousy pyramid."

Zedd pondered for a moment. He nodded and said, "Yes, Rita. Let's do that. Have Finster remold Horri-Bull, Ra-zor, and Inferna. I'll search through Angel Grove to find something to use to reactivate Tigra, Serpentor, and Nimrod, the Scarlet Sentinel." Zedd got up from his throne to begin his search while Rita went to call her scientist. The evil monarch soon found what he would need. "Excellent. Now, live again, my minions!" He laughed as he sent energy from his staff and recreated three of the Power Rangers toughest opponents. But no sooner had he done so did he see seven streaks of colored light heading for Earth. He didn't need his visor to know who it was.

"No!" screamed Zedd as he glowed red and slammed his fist on the balcony. "The Rangers must have succeeded in finding the Morphin Mage!"

Rita overheard this. "What?" she screeched as she approached the Repulsascope. She peered through as the Rangers entered Earth's atmosphere. "We've got to stop them, Zeddy!" she said in a panic as she turned to her husband. "They'll ruin everything!"

"We'll stop them, my dear," said Zedd. "Once Finster's monsters join my own, we supersize them!" he growled as his staff gleamed red.

At the Command Center, Trini was lying on the medical table. Alpha and Zordon kept watch over the city, ready to alert her if any more trouble sprang up. Trini immediately got to her feet when she saw her seven friends teleport in.

"Rangers!" exclaimed Alpha. "You got the power! You made it back!"

"And not a moment too soon," said Trini as the others removed their helmets.

Billy quickly approached Trini when he saw her fatigue. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," reassured the Gold Ranger. "I just need rest."

No sooner had she said that did the alarm start blaring. "No rest for the weary," said Adam as the Rangers instinctively approached the Viewing Globe.

"What's going on?" asked Tommy almost immediately.

"RANGERS," said Zordon, "IT APPEARS THAT RITA AND ZEDD HAVE RECREATED SIX OF THEIR BEST MONSTERS TO ATTACK THE CITY. YOU MUST INTERCEPT THEM BEFORE TOO MUCH DAMAGE IS DONE TO ANGEL GROVE."

Tommy nodded and said, "We're on it. Back to action!"

Once all of the Rangers arrived at the scene of the attack, Rocky, Billy, Adam, Kat, and Aisha called, "We need Dinozord Power now!"

As in the past, the Tyrannosaurus burst from a volcanic pit in the ground. The Mastondon emerged from a patch of ice and slowly lumbered its way towards the battlefield. The Pterodactyl burst from an active volcano and flew towards the scene of battle. The Triceratops approached from the desert, scattering sand in its wake. And finally, the Saber-Toothed Tiger ran through a jungle and leaped out, ready to fight. As the zords approached together, each Ranger leapt into their individual cockpits.

"Mastodon, power up!"

"Pterodactyl, power up!"

"Triceratops, power up!"

"Saber-Toothed Tiger, power up!"

"Tyrannosaurus, power up!"

"Alright, guys, let's bring them together!" ordered Rocky. And just like the original Dinozords, the new ones formed into a tank.

Jenny stood nearby and pulled out her Dragon Dagger. "Time for Dragonzord Power!" She played a tune on her dagger's flute, summoning her new Dragonzord. It emerged from the sea as it originally did. It roared and went to join its comrades.

Trini held up her staff and cried, "I call upon the Power of Pyramidas!" When Pyramidas emerged from the mountains, it rolled towards the battlefield. Trini leapt into her cockpit and said, "Pyramidas, power up!"

Tommy, Saba in his right hand, held up his left hand in the air and called, "Tigerzord, power up!" The new White Tigerzord emerged from the mountains and ran towards the battlefield. Tommy leaped onto the zord's head and hung on for the ride.

Nimrod saw the White Tigerzord and would have smiled if she were capable of it, albeit an evil smile. She said, "So, White Ranger, we meet again!" She fired powerful energy, but the Tigerzord pressed on, unaffected.

"Whoa!" said Tommy as a stray blast narrowly missed taking his head off. "I know when to get out of the frying pan!" With that, he made his way into the cockpit of his new zord. "Tigerzord, convert to Warrior Mode!" At that command, he placed Saba into a console, initiating the transformation from tiger to humanoid. Once it was done, the Tigerzord Warrior used its sword to clash with Nimrod's staff. After a few clangs, the Tigerzord finally struck down the Scarlet Sentinel. When she fell, Tommy said, "Feels like old times, eh Saba?"

"Yes, indeed!" agreed the talking sword enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, Horri-Bull and Tigra double-teamed Pyramidas. Though they did manage to rock its world, it was obvious that this was indeed one of the strongest zords they had ever seen. Pyramidas shot a gold energy beam from its tip, knocking both monsters down.

Serpentor spit venom at the Dragonzord as it strode towards him. The venom scored a direct hit, but it only seemed to enrage the Dragonzord. It roared and swung its tail at him, knocking him down. Ra-zor slashed the Dragonzord from behind with his sword-arms, but again, it only seemed to provoke Jenny's zord. The Dragonzord turned and landed a hard left then a right. Another left finally took him down, and the Dragonzord roared again.

Inferna saw the Megazord's Tank Mode rolling towards her. "Ah, Rangers," said the Master of Flame. "I've been waiting for another chance to melt you down!" She cut loose with every fire attack she knew, but the Megazord Tank weathered the storm.

"You're not pushing us around this time, Inferna!" declared Rocky.

He and his four companions then cried, "Megazord Tank Mode, fire!" As they commanded, the tank fired all of its weapons, knocking Inferna to the ground.

The Red Ranger then called over the communications system, "Hey, Tommy, what's say we finish this?"

"I'm with you, Rocko," agreed the White Ranger. Calling out to Jenny and Trini, he asked, "What about you guys?"

"Ready when you are, big bro!" called the Green Ranger into her communicator.

"Let's do it!" agreed the Gold Ranger.

"Alright, guys," ordered Tommy. "Let's finish them off!"

"Megazord, Battle Mode!" declared the five Rangers inside the Megazord Tank cockpit.

"Megazord sequence has been initiated," said a robotic voice as the transformation began. The tank transformed into its warrior mode. As in the past, the Triceratops and the Saber-Toothed Tiger formed the legs. The Mastodon split to form the arms. The Tyrannosaurus formed the body. Its head tucked into its chest. The Pterodactyl flew towards it, forming a chest plate and attaching. When the t-rex head had tucked into the chest, another head was revealed. The sides of this head folded forward, completing the sequence. "Megazord activated," said the robotic voice.

As the other three zords joined the Megazord, ready to perform their duty, the Rangers in the Megazord cockpit cried, "Power Sword!" The Megazord's sword fell from the sky, the Megazord catching it. The Rangers commanded, "Power Sword, power up!" The sword was then charged with energy and, with two swipes, sliced through Inferna and Ra-zor. Both monsters fell to the ground and exploded.

"Pyramidas, fire!" ordered Trini from her cockpit. A blue beam flew into the sky. Lightning bolts then struck the ground, each one moving closer and closer to its target. The last bolt struck Nimrod, destroying her.

"Dragonzord Missles!" declared Jenny from outside. She played a tune on her flute, activating the missles. All of them fired, destroying both Serpentor and Tigra.

"Now, it's my turn," said Tommy as he took a sphere from the console behind him. He placed it into a chute in front of him and commanded, "White Tiger Thunderbold, fire!" The tiger mouth on the chest of the Tigerzord Warrior charged up and fired. The blast tore into Horri-Bull. He slowly fell down and exploded.

The four zords turned away and stood triumphantly. The day had been won.

Or had it?

"I don't BELIEVE this!" screamed Lord Zedd as he slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne. "Every time it looks like we'll finally defeat those accursed Rangers, what happens? They slip right through our fingers!" Rita moaned the whole time.

Zedd then pointed to Scorpina and said, "Scorpina, I blame YOU for today's failure! I should blow you to BITS right now! The Rangers now have powers that I can never take away from them! And they have more powerful zords!"

"If you do, you will regret it," said the scorpion woman in her own defense. "I anticipated failure on this day. This is where your third gift comes in." Scorpina reached into a pocket in her armor and pulled out an orange crystal. She said, "This is a rare omnidyte crystal. It can be used to power any type of machinery. Namely, a certain Demon of Destruction with a few. . . how should I put it. . . power issues." She gave Zedd an evil grin.

Zedd immediately knew what she was talking about. "Serpenterra? You mean you've found a suitable power source for Serpenterra?" Scorpina nodded. Zedd then asked, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

The proud villainess answered, "Because I wanted to see if we could defeat the Rangers today. And if we failed, I thought you would savor the opportunity to destroy them yourself." She knelt down to one knee at Zedd's throne and offered the crystal.

The evil emperor took the crystal and chuckled lightly to himself. He looked at the omnidyte crystal for several seconds before speaking again. "Leave us. All of you. Finster, you stay. I wish to speak with you."

Scorpina stood up and bowed, as did Goldar and Rito. Finster watched as they exited the throne room, wondering what Lord Zedd wanted with him.

"Finster?"

"Yes, my emperor?"

Zedd handed him the crystal and said, "I want you to increase security around Serpenterra. I don't want Zordon figuring out what I'm up to. And then I want you to install this crystal into Serpenterra. Understand?"

Finster bowed and answered, "As you wish, Lord Zedd." He then turned away and headed back to his lab.

When he was gone, Zedd motioned for Rita to sit on his lap, which she did. When she was settled, she asked, "So, Zeddykins, do we send Serpenterra once it's energized?"

"No," answered her husband. "Not yet. Let's wait a few weeks for the Rangers to get off their guard. We'll bombard them with the Putties and Tengas. Maybe throw in an occasional monster. And then, when they least expect it. . ." he trailed off and chuckled as his staff glowed red, ". . .we take Serpenterra and put an end to those Power Brats once and for all!"

"Ooo, how brilliant, Zeddy!" screeched Rita. Both villains laughed at the brilliance of what would perhaps be their greatest scheme.

When the laughter died down, Zedd shot a bolt from his staff, a glass appearing in the hands of both himself and Rita. "A toast," he proposed as their glasses clinked.

"To the end of the Power Rangers!" finished Rita. They laughed again before taking a drink.

Back at the Command Center, the Rangers were gathered, holding their helmets. Zordon said, "RANGERS, THIS IS A MOST MOMENTOUS OCCASION. THOUGH WE LOST A FRIEND THIS DAY, AN OLD ONE HAS RETURNED TO US." Trini smiled at this, knowing that Zordon was referring to her. "AND NOW, YOU HAVE ACHIEVED ETERNAL POWER AND SAVED THE WORLD ONCE MORE FROM RITA AND LORD ZEDD'S DIABOLICAL EVIL. THROUGH THICK AND THIN, THE POWER RANGERS ENDURE. I AM VERY PROUD OF ALL OF YOU."

"Thank you, Zordon," said Adam with a smile.

"It's great to have you back, Trini," said Billy as he squeezed the Asian girl's hand.

"It's great to BE back," agreed the new Gold Ranger. She then went solemn and said, "I just wish Trey were still here with us."

"INDEED," said Zordon with a nod. "IT IS TRULY TRAGIC HOW HE MET HIS END. BUT REST ASSURED, TRINI, HIS DEATH WAS NOT IN VAIN. HE WENT DOWN PROTECTING ALL THAT IS GOOD AND TRUE, LIKE A TRUE POWER RANGER. AND I AM CERTAIN THAT HE HAS LEFT HIS LEGACY IN GOOD HANDS."

"Man, this is like a whole new beginning," said Jenny with a smile.

"Yeah," agreed Rocky. "We have better powers, better zords."

"Not to mention we got two new couples hooking up," added Aisha with a smile. This caused Tommy, Kat, Billy, and Trini to all blush. Adam, Rocky, Aisha, Jenny, and even Alpha all laughed at this.

"IT IS INDEED A NEW BEGINNING," said Zordon. "MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU, NOW AND FOREVER."

Trini held out her hand and asked Tommy, "Shall we?"

Tommy nodded and placed his hand on top of hers. Kat joined in, followed by Billy, Jenny, Aisha, Adam, and Rocky.

Gold, White, Pink, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black, and Red cried out as one:

"POWER RANGERS!"

THE END?

Author's Note: The trials of Tommy, Adam, and Rocky were more or less taken from a story by Emily, and tweaked to fit this story. Emily has an account here, and has also posted some of her stories on Paladar. I hope you don't mind, Emily!