Disclaimer: The characters from Xena and Hercules that are featured in this fan fic are property of Universal. The ranger characters belong to Disney. Everyone else is mine.
Author's Notes: This fic takes place after the official end of the Zeo season. Jason just lost his powers and Billy is on Aquitar.
Ranger Scrolls
"Too Far Back"
Kat found herself sitting across from her boyfriend eating frozen yogurt. She smiled up at him and spoke. "I thought it was a good movie." She said, referencing the film they had just seen.
"Sure." Tommy replied, looking up at her and grinning. "It was great if you're into the happy ending romantic comedy movies."
Kat shook her head. Although Jason had teased him about it, Tommy had agreed to go see the movie with her even though it was not his thing. "Personally I thought Matthew was hilarious and Selma was very good in her role."
"I'm glad you liked it." Tommy said sincerely. "Wait until this summer though." He continued with a grin. "It will be action movies galore. And you and I will have front row seats to every one of them."
"Whatever you say." Kat replied with a smile as she took the last bite of her yogurt. "Come on," she started standing up, "we need to head out or we'll be late meeting the others."
"Coming." Tommy said, scooping up the last of his dessert with a spoon finishing it. He stood and threw their trash away before grabbing Kat's hand in his and leading them off.
Carri found herself walking through Target with Jason, who out of boredom had agreed to accompany her to pick up a few things. She turned to him and thought for a moment before asking her question. "Don't you miss being… well you know."
"Of course I do." Jason replied. He knew everyone was worried about him. He loved being a ranger and it was hard to lose one's powers, even though he knew he would have to give them back eventually. "I've been through this before though. And now I get to spend my spare time with Emily so I think it was worth it."
"I don't know." Carri said as she thought about it. She loved being a ranger; she could not imagine her life without morphing and kicking alien ass. "I would miss it too much; it's part of me now."
"Trust me," Jason said as he glanced down at her, "no matter how many times you lose or gain power, it will always be a part of you."
Carri nodded in agreement. She tried not to think about it as she looked at the assortment of summer wear. "Check these out." Carri said, picking up a pair of oversized green sunglasses with pink flowers on the corners of the lenses. "What do you think?" she said with a grin as she put them on.
Jason looked at her blankly for a moment before he busted out laughing. She cracked a smile but tried to remain serious. Once Jason finally calmed down enough, he replied. "I think if you wear those the others will get the impression that you've finally gone off the deep end."
Carri rolled her eyes before taking the glasses off and tossing them back down with a laugh, getting another laugh out of Jason as well. She glanced down at her watch briefly before making an agitated sound. "Crap. We'd better cash out or we're going to be late meeting the others."
"You're right." Jason said as he glanced briefly down at his watch. He and Carri hurriedly made their way up front so they could get out of the store and meet the others.
Rocky watched as the last two members of their group finally arrived. "We were beginning to think you wouldn't show."
"You know me." Carri said with a shrug. "Things take me forever." She had stopped on their way to check out and found something she wanted to look at. Jason's trying to physically drag her away did not deter her, and after her ten minute detour the lines to check out had backed up and it took them forever to get out.
"Everybody ready?" Adam questioned. He ignored their tardiness. It did not matter; they had arranged to meet early enough that they could afford to be late.
"I've been ready." Carri replied with a goofy grin.
"You're not ready." Jason said, watching as she turned to look at him curiously. "You needed those sunglasses. To keep you from going blind in the sun." He watched as she smirked and then he laughed.
"Moving right along." Tommy said once it was obvious that everyone else was on the outside and they were not filling them in.
"Let's go." Rocky said as he moved over and put an arm around Carri's waist. He pulled her close, trying to ignore her little inside joke with Jason. The former red ranger had been back for several months and was happily seeing someone and had no interest in Carri. As much as that should be enough to keep the jealousy at bay, he couldn't help but let it surface when he was reminded how close the duo was. He tried to shake that feeling away as he started to lead Carri to the car. "I don't want to be late for the first pitch."
Kat grabbed Tommy's hand and followed Rocky and Carri. "Come on." She said leading him off.
Moments later Adam and Jason followed behind them, and the group of friends was off to Dodger Stadium for a late afternoon baseball game.
"Well isn't that cute." Rita said as she peered through her telescope. "They're going to a baseball game." She filled Zedd in as she glanced back at him. It was so cute it made her want to puke.
"Quite sickening if you ask me sis." Rito replied. Cute was not exactly the word he would use.
"Well nobody asked you." Goldar pointed out with a growl.
"We have been trying for four years to destroy those pathetic power rangers." Zedd spoke from his spot on his throne, ignoring the discussion of those around him. "If it hadn't been for King Mondo and the Machine Empire, we would have been successful by now. But none of that matters now, I have an idea."
"That's what you always say." Rita was quick to point out. "This one had better be good."
"It is." Zedd replied quickly, irritated with his wife's implied questioning of his abilities. "By placing the Time Crystal in the correct position, we're going to turn time back to before the rangers were born. Then all we have to do is kill their parents and we'll never have those brats to deal with."
"I like it." Rita said with a smile. Why had not they thought about this before? Their parents would not be able to defend themselves, and Zordon would not know what was going on until it was too late.
"Oooh, oooh, Ed, let me place the crystal!" Rito exclaimed, practically jumping up and down.
Zedd shot him a look, contemplating momentarily yelling at him for calling him Ed, before deciding that wasting time on this moron right now wasn't worth it. "This is a very delicate job. One wrong move and everything changes." Zedd said as he brought out the Time Crystal.
"Gotcha Ed." Rito replied, snatching the crystal from Zedd's hands and taking off.
"Wait." Zedd said with a growl, but his idiot brother-in-law was already gone. He could not believe he had taken the crystal and disappeared. He was going to have to send someone after him before he messed this all up.
Rocky watched as three runs crossed home plate. "We're winning!" he exclaimed as he exchanged high fives with the others.
"Thanks to Mike." Carri reminded everyone of the catcher's homerun moments ago.
"I knew we kept him around for a reason." Rocky joked.
Kat glanced out over the baseball field. She was not a huge fan of the sport, but she was having a good time. "This is fun."
"Much better than that movie you dragged me to earlier." Tommy teased as he put an arm around her and gave her a half hug.
"What did you go see?" Adam questioned.
"Fools Rush In." Kat replied.
Jason laughed. "I told you so." He replied. There was no way he would willingly go to a romantic comedy.
Carri glanced over toward the former ranger and rolled her eyes. "Please. You would go in a heartbeat if Emily asked you to."
"Not a chance." Jason replied as he shook her head. "Besides, Emily knows better than to drag me out to some stupid romantic comedy."
Carri had a comeback ready but she never got to say it. All of the rangers felt something weird going on around them. Before they could figure out what was going on, they felt as though they were being sucked through a straw as they barreled backwards through time.
"Ok Ed, I planted it." Rito said as he returned.
"You idiot!" Zedd yelled, standing up and pointing his staff at him. "You didn't even get directions before you left! You planted it at the wrong place and wrong time!"
"Wait a minute Zedd." Rita turned from her telescope and back toward her husband. She was trying to keep her brother from being creamed. "It appears as though Rito sent them back to some year BC. They'll be out of our hair for a while."
"For a while. But as soon as they get back…" Zedd let his voice trail off. He was too furious to think of a good punishment for Rito to finish that sentence.
"And if they don't come back?" Goldar questioned.
Zedd glanced over toward him. "Then Rito gets to live." He finished as he sat back down in his throne. Maybe by some miracle Rito's idiocy would work out for the best.
Carri looked around at her surroundings. She was in a clearing in the woods, but she had no idea as to where she was. Before she could react, she heard a voice.
"Xena is that you?" A blonde girl questioned as she popped out into the clearing. "You know you were supposed to meet me over an hour ago. Where have you." She stopped short when she looked up and realized she was not talking to her friend. "Who are you?" the girl questioned, as she looked Carri over. "And what are you wearing? You look more available than one of the girls who work for Meg."
Carri snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. She had no idea who Meg was, but she was under the impression that this girl just called her a prostitute or something along those lines. "I'm Carri. In addition, I am wearing clothes. And I have no idea who Meg is but I would like to know who you are and where I am."
"I'm Gabrielle." She replied, as she looked her over cautiously. She was not quite sure what to think about this strange girl. "And you're in Greece, heading toward the town of Trechous. And those are not clothes."
Carri raised her eyebrows and had to bite her tongue to keep herself from going on about the clothes argument. Instead, she took a deep breath and continued. "If you can't tell, I'm not from here."
Gabrielle let out a little laugh. That was obvious. "Where are you from?"
"Angel Grove." Carri spoke quickly before realizing that probably was a stupid answer. She doubted this girl knew of Angel Grove."A town far away from here." She amended.
"Don't worry; we'll help you fit in." A voice said as another female approached the clearing.
"We will?" Gabrielle asked, turning toward Xena, her best friend's long absence suddenly forgotten.
"Yes we will." Xena replied as she stepped forward. "I'm Xena. If you want to follow me we'll get you some clothes."
Carri grunted. She was tired of them knocking her clothes but she supposed she had to fit in. With a sigh, she looked them over. "What do you have in mind? Because, no offense, I'm not dressing like Gabrielle." Carri was not the long, covering everything dress kind of woman.
"Hey!" Gabrielle exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'll find you something." Xena replied, ignoring Gabrielle for the moment. "Maybe something similar to mine. Does that work for you?"
Carri thought for a moment. It still was not her style, but she supposed it was an improvement. "It will do." As long as she wasn't wearing that long heavy dress.
"Follow me." Xena said as she turned and walked off, her horse Argo's reigns in hand.
"Xena." Gabrielle hissed as she ran and caught up with her. "Why are we helping her?"
"It's hard to explain, but I feel compelled to." Xena replied. From the minute, she saw the girl in the clearing there was something about her that made Xena want to help. "Besides she's obviously lost and alone. She could use our help."
"Whatever." Gabrielle replied, resigning herself to the fact they were going to help. "You're the one with the sword, whatever you say goes."
"I know." Xena replied with a chuckle as she led them on.
An hour later, Carri walked up to Xena and Gabrielle wearing her new outfit which consisted of a skirt somewhat resembling Xena's and a top that started out above her waist and went over her shoulders with two leather straps. She was also sporting the sword she talked Xena into giving her. She was not about to be stuck out here with no powers and no weapons.
"How do I look?" she asked as she grinned at them. It was not exactly her first choice but it would do. Besides, if she needed to, she had a feeling she could move quick enough to kick ass in it.
"Fine." Xena replied. She picked it out for her, she wouldn't think anything less.
"You let her have a sword?" Gabrielle questioned in disbelief as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You've never even offered me one."
"You wouldn't use it." Xena was quick to point out. "Since she claims to know how to use it I figured why not."
"Prove it." Gabrielle challenged, her arms still planted firmly across her chest.
Carri shrugged her shoulders. She didn't mind proving it. She didn't have any real weapons training, other than being a power ranger, but she figured she had used those skills enough in morphed battles to be able to use them here. Xena drew her sword and sparred with Carri for a few minutes. Although Xena let up on her some, she was quite pleased to see that she could hold her own.
Gabrielle hated to admit it, but she was good. "Impressive." She said simply once they were through.
"Thank you." Carri replied a self-satisfied grin plastered on her face.
"Only thing left to do is ditch that ugly bracelet." Gabrielle said as she gestured to her communicator.
"Not a chance." Carri snapped quickly. It was not functioning presently, but it very well may be her only shot at returning home. "It has sentimental value."
Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders. "Fine." She replied. She did not have to get snappy with her.
"Let's go." Xena said as she led them off. "We're running behind as it is." She watched as the others nodded before quickly following her.
Iolaus was having a drink in a bar in the middle of Trechous. He looked up and saw an older woman coming in with several guards, toting a box. "What's going on over there?" he asked the bartender.
"That woman is carrying the Hope Diamond." The bartender replied as he leaned forward. "Seems as though all of Greece wants to get a look at it."
"Oh no!" The woman exclaimed, catching the attention of everyone in the bar. "The diamond! It's missing!"
"Autolycus!" Iolaus exclaimed, shaking his head as he ran out of the bar and in search of the diamond.
"This my boy is how great lives are led." Autolycus said as he glanced over at his companion, the boy he was helping for reasons he was did not know. "You steal something important and sell it for much more than what it's worth."
Rocky looked over at him and frowned. "Don't you worry about getting caught?" he asked. He did not like this one bit. It went against everything he believed in.
"Me? Get caught?" Autolycus questioned, rather amused. "Ha. No worries my boy, there's a reason they call me the King of Thieves."
"But I'll bet the King of Thieves didn't count on me being one of the first ones to hear about the stolen diamond." Iolaus said as he approached them from behind.
"Just great." Rocky said as they turned around. "We're busted, and we're going to get in trouble. All because you had to steal some diamond."
"Wait just one second here." Autolycus said as he grinned over at Rocky. "Now Iolaus here is a very reasonable man. I'm sure he'd agree that this diamond is more worthwhile as a quick source of income."
"Not hardly." Iolaus said as he glared from Autolycus to his companion.
"Aw, come on." Autolycus said, watching as Iolaus gave him a stern look. He sighed. He did not want to give it back but better to return it than to deal with Iolaus and friends. "Fine." He grumbled as he handed the diamond over.
"Now what?" Rocky questioned, wondering if he was going to spend the rest of his life in an ancient jail cell.
"We wait for my friends, who should be here any minute now, and then we take the diamond back." Iolaus replied. This wasn't on the day's agenda but they'd have to make time for it.
"Don't worry; he's not turning us in." Autolycus said as he made a face. "Our biggest problem is how to make up for the loss of income." He shook his head as he glanced at Iolaus. "So what are you all up to?"
"I assume you mean me, Xena, Gabrielle, and as soon as we drop the diamond off, Herc." Iolaus said, watching as Autolycus nodded. "We're off to try to intercept Drecos's army, stop their attacks."
Autolycus raised an eyebrow. This could have potential. "Mind if we join you?"
Iolaus simply shook his head. There was only one reason Autolycus would be interested in joining them to fight an army. "Only if you promise not to steal the rare jewels they're carrying." They had plans to give those back to the villages they destroyed.
"I would never dream of it." Autolycus replied with a grin. Of course, that was exactly what he planned on doing, but he would not tell them that. Once they won the battle, he'd grab the jewels and take off.
Before Iolaus could respond, Xena's voice called out to him. "Iolaus!" she exclaimed as she approached him. "What are you doing here?" This was not the chosen meeting point.
"Getting the Hope Diamond back from Autolycus." Iolaus replied as he rolled his eyes. "Come on, we have to return this before we meet Herc."
"Autolycus!" Gabrielle exclaimed, shaking her head. "How come every time we run into you, you're stealing something?"
"Simple my dear." Autolycus said with a smile. "That's because I'm."
"The King of Thieves." Xena finished, cutting him off. They'd all heard him say it a thousand times. "Trust me, we get it. By the way, this is Carri, and Carri meet Iolaus, Autolycus and…" Xena's voice trailed off as she didn't recognize the new guy.
Carri was not paying any attention to Xena, she was too busy staring at Rocky, trying to figure out if it was really him. She could not be sure until she saw the communicator attached firmly to his wrist. Mind made up, she ran over to him and gave him a hug.
"Well look at that." Iolaus commented, watching the duo embrace. "She doesn't even know his name and he gets a hug."
"How does he get all the luck?" Autolycus questioned as the duo moved in for a passionate kiss. She was cute, he wanted her to greet him like that.
"I thought I was alone." Carri said. She was so relieved to find out that she was not the only ranger here. "I tried the communicators but." She stopped and shook her head.
"I know. That was the first thing I tried." Rocky replied. Of all the other rangers to find first, he was glad he found her. At least he did not have to worry about her anymore. "I'm so glad you're here."
"I wonder where the others are," Carri said pausing to think about it, "or if they're even here. Assuming Zedd did this, who knows where he sent everybody."
"I don't know but I."
"Ah-hem." Xena cleared her throat, stopping Rocky short. She watched as both of them turned toward her. "I believe you owe us an explanation."
"This is Rocky, my boyfriend." Carri said as she smiled at Xena. They had so much to discuss that it was easy to get caught up in talking to Rocky. However, she did owe Xena an explanation after all Xena helped her. "If you haven't figured it out already, we are seriously in the wrong time. With no way to get back."
"It seems like you're stuck here for now." Xena said. She was not sure what she thought about time travel, it was not as if this was a normal occurrence. "You're welcome to stick with us until you return home. Or the rest of time, if that's what it takes."
"The rest of time?" Rocky repeated as he and Carri exchanged glances. He hoped that was not the case. With a sigh, he put his arm around her.
Iolaus was the first of the group to speak. "Come on, we had better get moving. We're already running behind." He said. And with that, the group was off to return the diamond.
Jason watched as one second Carri was about to comment, and the next the entire Zeo team disappeared. "Where did they go!" he exclaimed, jumping up.
"Sit down and shut up!" a drunk fan yelled from behind their seats.
"Did you not see my friends just vanish?" Jason questioned. Maybe they didn't see it. That probably was not a bad thing.
"You came here alone." Another Dodger fan called out. "Are you crazy?"
Jason declined to comment back as he rushed out of the aisle and down the stairs. His friends were there, regardless of whether anyone else realized it. Zedd had to have had a hand in this.
As soon as he found a secure spot, he brought the communicator he still wore to his mouth. "Zordon?" he questioned.
"Go ahead Jason." Zordon's booming voice replied.
"The Zeo team, they just disappeared from their seats." Jason quickly filled him in on the situation.
"According to our scanners, they are right where they should be." Zordon replied. The constantly monitored the rangers' whereabouts and nothing was out of place.
"No they're not. Something's not right." Jason said, glancing around briefly before continuing. "They got sucked through a portal at the game. Nobody else seems to have any memory of them ever being here."
"If what you say is true, then Lord Zedd must have used some sort of magic to interfere with our sensors." Zordon said as he considered the possibilities. "You must teleport to the Power Chamber at once."
"On my way." Jason said. He gave one more glance around before tapping a button on his communicator and teleporting off in a flash of white light.
"Give me that." The gang leader snarled as he ripped a money pouch out of a defenseless villager's hand. "Now I'll use your money for something useful." He said before turning toward the man's companion. "Yours too." He said before yanking his money pouch as well.
Out of nowhere, Hercules stepped in front of the gang. "I don't recommend you do that."
The gang leader laughed. "And who exactly do you think is going to stop me?"
"We will." Herc's new friend, the teen he was helping for reasons he was unsure of, said as he stepped up beside him.
"I think you should leave this to me." Hercules said as he turned toward Tommy.
"I always help out an innocent in trouble." Tommy said with a smile. Of course, his kind of trouble was usually ranger related, but how hard could this be? He seriously doubted this gang was more difficult than the Tengas.
"In that case." Hercules said with a smile as he and Tommy went to face the gang. A fight ensued, one that Tommy and Hercules won fairly quickly. Before long, the gang was gone and the villagers had their money back.
"Thank you." The man said as he retrieved his money pouch. That was all he had to buy food for his family.
"There you are." Iolaus called out as he approached the duo. "I figured I'd find you off saving someone."
"Iolaus, about time you got here." Hercules said with a smile. "I'd like you to meet." Before he could do the introductions, he was interrupted.
"Tommy." Rocky said as he and Carri headed over to him. "It's good to see you." He figured the more of their Zeo team they could pull together, the better their chances of figuring out a way out of there.
"I was starting to think I was alone." Tommy replied. He had been walking around with Hercules for a while now with no sign that the others were there or that the rangers ever existed in this time. He was starting to get a bit worried.
"Once again, no introductions needed." Gabrielle said dryly as she looked at the small group that obviously knew each other.
"Tommy," Xena started, ignoring her friend's comment for the moment, "are you going to come with us to fight Drecos?"
Tommy was not sure what the deal with Drecos was, Hercules had not mentioned him. He glanced at Rocky and Carri, both of whom nodded. "I'm in." He said, figuring the others could fill him in later.
"In that case let's go. We're already behind schedule." Iolaus pointed out. If they did not hurry, they were going to miss their intercept point. Drecos's army should be very close to them right now.
Autolycus stepped in front of Tommy before he could leave. "Seeing as how no one else plans to say anything, I'm Autolycus, this is Xena, Gabrielle and Iolaus."
"Nice to meet you." Tommy said. He watched as Autolycus gave him a quick nod before turning and gathering with the rest of the group as they headed out. Tommy intentionally held back, and Rocky and Carri joined him, the three tailing the others with enough distance that they could talk.
"So by the looks of things, we're back in the past, I'd say late BC." Tommy said as he glanced at the two. He assumed the bit about the past was obvious. He had been picking up as many clues as he could from historical references to exactly where they were.
"So then that puts us in ancient Greece." Carri commented, although she figured everyone had a handle on the Greece part.
Rocky shook his head. "We still should be able to contact someone." He thought Zordon should be on Earth at this time. If that was the case, their communicators should work.
"Zordon said the power has been around for a while but we don't know much else." Tommy pointed out as he thought it over. "I'm sure someone is out there. My best guess is that their frequency isn't strong enough yet to pick up our communicators."
"That makes sense." Carri said, watching as Rocky shook his head in agreement. She wondered if that meant they would have to travel to America, or what would eventually become America, and physically seek out the Command Center. It would take months and they would be alone and they may not find it. But that may be the only chance they had.
"Here they are." Hercules said, his voice pulling the rangers away from their conversation.
"Alright," Xena said as she motioned for the group to huddle up around her, "this is what we're going to do."
"Aye ai ai!" Alpha exclaimed as he turned frantically toward Jason. "It appears as though there was a time warp signal, too faint for our sensors to detect. It has sent the rangers back in time."
"What's the source of the signal?" Jason asked, his mind running with ways they may be able to get them back.
"That is yet to be determined, but I'll keep," Alpha paused as the Power Chamber's alarms started to sound. "Aye ai ai!" he exclaimed once more.
Jason turned toward the viewing screen in time to see the commotion Zedd had started. "With the rangers gone, what are we going to do?" He was fully prepared to jump down there and fight, powers or no powers, if he was the Earth's only hope.
"I will contact Trey and ask him to come protect the Earth until we are able to retrieve the rangers." Zordon replied. Trey was going to be their best option for the time being.
Jason nodded and focused on the viewing globe. Hopefully Trey would be enough.
The enemy soldiers were marching through the woods, looking for their next victim. Out of nowhere, a giant gold ring, more precisely Xena's chakram, went flying through the air, followed by Xena and Carri.
"What the?" Questioned one of the soldiers. Although that was all he was able to say as the charkam got to him, slicing his throat.
Xena caught the chakram in her hand as it came barreling back toward her. "Who's next?" she asked as she clipped it back to her belt and the hand-to-hand combat began.
All through the woods, much of the same thing was going on, minus the charkam. The other three teams, who were strategically placed for the ambush, were moving in to attack. Rocky and Autolycus had some troops, while Hercules and Tommy took another group and Gabrielle and Iolaus faced off against the rest.
Xena was having fun fighting until she noticed their leader, the only man standing to the side watching instead of in the battle. "Drecos." She said simply.
"Xena, long time no see." Drecos said with a smile. "How are you? Good I hope. I have been doing well, attacking and destroying villages and everything that lay in them. But enough about me. What are you up to?"
"I was enjoying some time off until I heard about a certain army trying to take over the world." Xena said, gripping her sword and twirling it around once for effect. "Now I'm here to stop them."
"I don't think so." Drecos replied, a little too calmly for Xena's taste. He then clapped his hands and out of nowhere, two dozen more soldiers appeared.
"Behind you!" Xena called out to Carri.
Carri turned around just in time to see what Xena saw, and was barely able to get her sword around in time to kill the guy attacking her. She was not fast enough to be able to stop the dozen more than were rushing in to get to her, and neither was Xena. After a tiresome fight, the soldiers had both of them in their grasp.
"Well Xena, look at this. I'm holding all the cards now." Drecos said with a smile. "As soon as we're done here, I'll destroy the rest of your pathetic team." He paused, turning to point to one of his soldiers. "You!" he bellowed, motioning for him to come forward.
The soldier who was dressed like all the others with only his eyes showing had been attentively watching the fight. He came quickly once he was called upon.
"Meet my new favorite soldier." Drecos said with a smile. "You could say he just dropped out of nowhere. But I like him, enough to let him have a very important first kill. Her." Drecos finished, pointing toward Carri and watching Xena struggle. "I can't kill you first, and then you'd miss out on this."
The soldier took his sword out and headed over toward Carri. He reared it back, and in one swift motion, he plunged it toward her.
After finishing up the fight against Zedd's group of Tengas, the Gold Ranger teleported himself into the Power Chamber. As his black streak materialized into Trey, Zordon greeted him. "Thank you Trey for coming to assist us in our time of need."
"It is the least I can do." Trey replied. What they did, what Jason did for him is something that he will be repaying for a long time. "Have you found the source of the time jump yet?"
"It appears as though the rangers were sent back with the Time Crystal." Alpha replied.
"Good." Jason replied. If they had known before the fight was over, they had not bothered to share that with him. "So how do we get them back?"
"Little is known about the time crystal." Zordon said as he glanced down at his original red ranger. "In theory, destroying it will return the other rangers to the present time." Unfortunately, a theory was about as good as they were going to get.
"Then let me go destroy it." Jason said. He was ready to get his friends back.
"It must be destroyed by a morphed ranger." Zordon replied. He understood Jason's eagerness at completing the task but it was too risky. "It is unknown if the blast from the crystal's destruction will effect an unmorphed human."
Trey could tell that Jason wanted to go but he was certain that the former ranger knew better. "I will be happy to assist you in this matter." He said as he stepped forward.
"I cannot pinpoint the crystals location." Alpha explained as he grabbed a small device off the console. "I can teleport you close, and using this locator you should be able to find it." He said as he handed the locator over.
Trey took the locator and tucked it into the belt of his uniform. "I will not let you down." He promised as Alpha teleported him away.
Carri sucked in a deep breath. She was prepared for the worst, which at this point looked like death. She was not quite sure how she felt about it. As a ranger, she had accepted the fact that death during battle could be the way she exited this world. However, she always thought it would be Mondo or Zedd that did it, not some random soldier in an ancient Greek army.
She closed her eyes and she could hear the sword slice through flesh. However, it wasn't her that took the hit, it was one of the soldiers holding her. As he collapsed to the ground, she turned and immediately kicked the other soldier holding her, setting herself free. The moment Xena realized Carri was free she freed herself as well.
"How dare you betray me?" Drecos yelled as he glared at his soldier. Looking around he saw that there were only a few members of his army left standing. "You may have won this time Xena but next time…" Drecos let his voice trail off. "Retreat!"
Just like that, Drecos's army was disappearing into the forest, except the one lone soldier who had betrayed him. Xena approached him and looked him over. "Who are you and why did you defy Drecos?"
"As good as the benefits were they're not worth killing my teammate." The soldier replied, grinning as he took his headgear off.
"Adam!" Carri exclaimed as she immediately went to give him a hug. She owed him big time. His being there was the only reason she was not a corpse on the ground right now.
Adam returned the hug just as someone else was calling his name. He turned to see Tommy and Rocky jogging over toward him. As they approached they slowed down, and Rocky gave him a slap on the shoulder. "I saw what happened. You know I would have killed you if you hadn't saved her." Rocky joked. He knew Adam would never have thought not to save her.
"Well you know, as annoying as she may be, I just couldn't bring myself to do it." Adam teased as he looked over at Carri and grinned.
Carri groaned. "I quit." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest. The three male rangers simply laughed at her. "I'm not kidding. Two thousand years in the past and you guys still make fun of me."
"Fine. I didn't kill you because Zordon would get mad if I did." Adam said, still teasing. Carri huffed and he continued. "Come on, you know I wouldn't do it because you're my friend."
Carri looked like she was letting up a bit but before anyone could say anything, Gabrille piped up. "Zordon? Who's Zordon? Is that some type of God?"
"Everybody, this is Adam." Tommy said suddenly, purposely dodging Gabrielle's question. "Adam, meet Hercules, Xena, Gabrielle, Iolaus and Autolycus."
Adam said hello and the others acknowledged him before Xena turned and started to lead them off. "Come on, I have some things that need to get done."
"There's probably a diamond out there somewhere calling my name." Autolycus said as he started to head in a different direction. "You coming?" He called back to Rocky. He had become oddly attached to the boy.
"No, I think I've found where I want to be." Rocky said with a smile as he slipped his hand into his girlfriend's after she had finally let her hands drop back down to her side.
"In other words, he's smartened up and he's joining us at the castle." Iolaus said, mentally hitting himself for mentioning their destination. He was fairly certain that would gain Autolycus's interest.
"Castle?" Autolycus repeated as he stopped and abruptly turned toward then. "In that case I might just tag along."
"Figures." Iolaus replied with a sigh. He had to open his mouth.
As they made their way down a path, a woman approached them out of nowhere. "Xena?" she practically sobbed. She waited for her to nod her head yes and she continued. "Oh thank the Gods. Callisto, she sent me to find you, she said she would spare my family if I told you that you are next. She has already destroyed my village."
Xena got a deadly look in her eyes, similar to the look Carri got just before she destroyed something. Quickly she jumped on the back of her horse. "Follow me."
"Where are we going?" Gabrielle questioned, watching as Xena allowed the horse to trot forward before starting to run to keep up.
"We're going to stop Callisto." Xena replied as she headed off in the direction that her messenger came from.
"There it is." Trey said as he spotted the crystal. He headed over toward it and held his power staff high in the air. "Let's see what happens when I destroy it."
As the staff came down, the crystal smashed into thousands of pieces, the blast rocking all around him. Once it was finished and the crystal was gone, Trey looked on in approval. "Let's see if that does the trick." He said as he teleported back.
"Aye ai ai! Nothing is happening! They should have been back by now!" Alpha exclaimed, in full in robot panic mode. "The only person who can help us get them back now is Lord Zedd!"
"There's no way Zedd will help us." Jason said, shaking his head. He would figure something out. There had to be a way to launch an assault on the Lunar Palace to get the rangers back.
"Do not give up Jason." Zordon spoke in an attempt to keep the former ranger's spirits up. "As long as there is a way to get them back, we will keep trying."
"Don't worry Zordon. I know we will get them back. If I have to go up there and extract the information from Zedd myself." Jason replied. He hoped it would not come to that but he was not going to leave his friends stuck somewhere.
Xena burst into Callisto's camp, the others hot on her heels. She came to a stop and watched as a blonde woman stepped forward. "You wanted me so here I am." Xena said simply as she dismounted her horse.
"Look who it is." Callisto said with a smile. "And you brought friends. How cute." She said as she turned and glanced back toward her army. "Get them." She said simply before stepping back.
As her faithful army did as they were told, Callisto walked around until she spied the girl she was looking for, hiding in a corner. "Come here." She called out.
The girl came forward and was immediately greeted by Callisto. "You know, I understand why I feel like helping you so much. You remind me a lot of myself when I was young, so innocent and pure. Until she ruined it." Callisto hissed, turning the girl violently so she could point Xena out to her.
The girl looked closely at the battlefield, noticing Xena first before recognizing all the people fighting with her. "Those are my friends!" Kat exclaimed.
"Well they're in my way." Callisto said as she roughly grabbed Kat's shoulder. "They're history now." She said as she led her off.
"No!" Kat yelled, ripping herself free from Callisto's grip as she ran toward them.
"Kat!" Tommy called to her as she approached. He was grateful to see his girlfriend there. He was hoping they would find her eventually.
"You guys need some help?" Kat questioned as she made her way into the group of rangers.
"Feel free to jump in." Tommy said as he gestured to the army they were fighting against.
"You got it." Kat said. She quickly moved into position to start attacking the army that moments ago were protecting her.
"How dare she!" Callisto hissed. She did not take her under her wing for her to defect. "Now she will die too." Callisto said as she lifted her right arm up and created a fireball in her hand.
Xena reacted quickly, grabbing her chakram from her side and slinging it through the air. "You're not going to win that easily." She said as she sliced Callisto's arm cleanly off.
"That hurt." Callisto said with a growl as she dropped the stub down, watching as a new arm started to grow in the old one's place.
Carri moved up beside Xena just in time to see Callisto's arm grow itself. "Well, that was gross." She commented. It was not everyday an enemy re-grew appendages.
Callisto smiled at her. "Thank you." She said before lifting her new right arm and flicking her hand in Xena and Carri's direction, sending them flying through the air and into a wall. She watched them fall to the ground then she let out a sigh. "This is getting boring now."
"Well let me spice it up a bit." Hercules said as he ran at her from the side, preparing to hit her.
"How soon you mortals forget." Callisto said as she moved swiftly out of his way. "I'm a god now. Have fun." She said disappearing before anyone else could attempt to attack her.
As Callisto left, the rest of her army regrouped, ready to fight her cause until the end. Tommy was the first to notice their new resolve. "Let's finish these guys off." He said as he moved toward the front of the group of rangers.
"Right." The others agreed before falling into formation behind Tommy and moving into fighting stance.
The others found themselves confused by the way these five teenagers fell into some sort of army mode of their own. "What are they doing?" Gabrielle asked as she gripped her staff. She glanced up at Xena who simply shook her head in response.
The five rangers ran at the small army, who was highly amused that this group that thought they were going to defeat them. They were quickly surprised by the fighting skills that all five rangers brought to the table. After proving that they could and would beat them, the army retreated, leaving the rangers victorious.
"Ok what gives?" Iolaus said as the rest of the group approached the rangers. "You guys fight this army off like this and we have to wonder, who exactly are you?"
"We're superheroes known as the power rangers." Tommy said simply. He was not going to lie. Besides, maybe there were rangers here that they had seen that could help them.
Gabrielle could not help but laugh. She did not know what a power ranger was but if it was a superhero, she seriously doubted that these five fit the bill. "That is the funniest thing I've ever heard."
Rocky glanced over at his girlfriend, who was eyeing Gabrielle with her arms crossed over her chest. "It's the truth." he quickly spoke up before Carri had an opportunity to say anything.
Hercules ignored Gabrielle and turned his attention toward the rangers. "What exactly are power rangers?"
"We're Earth's only line of defense against evil." Carri explained as she drew her eyes away from Gabrielle, whose laughter had finally ceased. "We morph and fight battles against space aliens."
A serious look crossed Gabrielle's face. Maybe they were telling the truth. She was curious now as to what exactly being a power ranger meant. "What's morphing?"
"We have morphers that give us our powers." Rocky said, wondering how exactly to explain morphing to someone who did not have access to any kind of modern technology. "We take our morpher and call for the power, and our ranger suits cover us and protect us and give us ranger abilities."
Autolycus stared at the boy that he once thought could be his protégé. "Why that's the most absurd, most outrageous, most" he stopped short when a stranger appeared and cut him off.
"You're forgetting true." The stranger said simply as he approached the group.
Hercules turned and saw his father standing there. "What are you doing here?" he asked. His father usually did not show up unless there was something directly involving him.
"I am here because the presence of these five strangers has disrupted the timeline." His father replied.
"Who is he?" Kat whispered, turning toward her cousin who shrugged.
"I am Zeus." He said, answering the question he heard Kat ask. "I am here to return the timeline to its proper state by sending you all to your correct time."
As the others celebrated, Carri made a face and asked the question that they were all thinking about. "So how did we get here in the first place?"
"It appears as though someone used the Time Crystal." Zeus replied with a sigh. "How they got it I am unsure as it is currently hidden on Mount Olympus."
"It had to have been Zedd." Adam said with a sigh. Zedd was the only one who would want to send them back in time.
"Why did the crystal scatter us to different places?" Tommy questioned. He would have assumed it would have sent them all together; after all, they were sitting together in the baseball stadium.
"You were sent to the location of your ancestors." Zeus said as he turned toward the small group from his time. "This is why some of you felt an overwhelming need to help these teens."
The rangers buzzed for a few seconds about who exactly their ancestors were. Most of them were surprised. This was Greek mythology come to life. Of course, they had seen a lot in their time, there was no reason that myths had to only be myths.
"Now it is time for you to say goodbye to your ancestors and return home." Zeus said as he glanced toward the rangers. "I will return you to the location you left. Your return will be undetected by others."
"I guess this is goodbye." Tommy said as he stepped forward and approached Hercules.
Hercules nodded and took his hand. He was proud of Tommy. It was obvious that Tommy was the leader of this group and a well-respected warrior. "I'm glad to see my descendants still want to fight on the side of good."
As Hercules dropped Tommy's hand, Xena stepped up and went to say goodbye to Carri. "I'm glad to see my family still fights for what's right." She had not always been that way but she fought hard for all things good now. It is good to know that fighting for what is right stayed in the family.
Xena gave Carri a hug just as Autolycus went to shake Rocky's hand. "I'm surprised you're not a thief. I figured my family tree would be full of them." He said as he made a face. "But you are doing something important with your life; I suppose that's what counts."
"You could get into something else too." Rocky pointed out, watching as Autolycus immediately frowned. "Then again, you are doing fine, and as long as there are people around like Iolaus to stop you, I guess its ok." Rocky said, watching as Iolaus chuckled and Autolycus shook his head.
Kat and Adam were busy staring at the ground. They had both left their ancestors behind as both of them firmly fought for the wrong side. Xena noticed their faces and approached them. "Adam, Drecos may not be a good guy, but he's still your ancestor. And if you ignore the fact that he'd be fighting with this Ed character, I'm sure he'd be proud of you."
Adam thought about it, giving Xena a slight smile before she turned toward Kat. "And Callisto may be an evil, vengeful goddess now, but she wasn't always like this. She used to be innocent and pure. Her outcome is my fault. I'm sure she sees her younger self in you and she's probably jealous of you."
Kat seemed to be pleased with Xena's words. As Kat smiled, Zeus decided that it was time to put things back the way they should be. "And now to send you all back where you belong." Zeus used his power to bring his hands forth and open up a portal. The rangers stepped forward, and much like before they got sucked into the portal, only this time they were thrust forward through time, back to their seats in Dodger's stadium.
As the portal closed, Zeus disappeared, leaving the others there to reflect on what happened. "Well, that was interesting to say the least." Iolaus commented.
Gabrielle nodded in agreement, although interesting did not quite cover it. "It must have been different to meet your descendants."
"I'm still surprised I didn't have any thieves in the family." Autolycus said, shaking his head.
Iolaus shot him a look. "Did you ever stop to think that everyone else knows that stealing isn't the right thing to do?"
"Actually, no." Autolycus said matter-of-factly. Stealing was the only thing he knew and he was damn good at it.
Xena sighed. "Come on guys, we still have one more stop." With those words, she grabbed her horse and pushed to the front of the group, leading the others off to their next destination.
Rita backed away from her telescope. The scene she saw sickened her. The five Zeo rangers were sitting happily in their seats, having just been joined by Jason. "I don't believe it!" she screeched. "They're back!"
"Rito!" Zedd bellowed, his head snapping toward his useless brother-in-law.
Goldar let out a laugh. "Someone is in trouble."
"Yeah Ed?" Rito questioned as Zedd's gaze found him.
Zedd stood up, furious. He was already angry this was the last straw. "It's Lord Zedd, Z E D D, Zedd!"
"What's going on?" Rito asked, genuinely confused at why he was in this much trouble.
"The power rangers have made it back to the present." Goldar happily informed him.
"Oh." Rito replied, glancing up at the furious Lord Zedd. "Not good." He said before taking off.
Zedd jumped off his throne and chased after him. "Get back here!"
Goldar laughed as Rito ran for his life and Zedd chased him. Rita simply moaned and put her hands to her head. "I think I'm getting another headache." She said before heading out of the main room, leaving her brother's fate in her husband's hands.