Chapter 10:
The Dance Part 2
Tommy's eyes flickered over to Jason who had changed his hand position under the weights that Tommy was lifting when his phone rang. Tommy slowly lifted the barbell back onto the stand and sat up, nodding to Jason letting him know that he could answer his phone without Tommy getting hurt.
"How much are you pressing now, Tommy?" Rocky asked, leaning over the barbell.
"A little over 200," Tommy replied modestly, dabbing at his face with a towel. "I can't do it for long, though. My arms give out after five. I figured I could keep working my way up to the weight and then I can finally be able to handle it."
"Man, Tommy, with your work out regime you'll be able to win any martial arts tournament that's thrown your way," Adam commented, lightly hitting Tommy on the arm.
"I concur. Your offensive and defensive techniques have really improved and you can get yourself out of tough situations quickly. You would stand a good chance in a few martial arts competitions."
"Unless some people from Stone Canyon have been taking steroids or something," Zack joked. "But the only reason they'd do that is if they wanted to stand a chance against you or Jason." They laughed as Jason walked back over to them, unable to hide the smile that was forming on his face. "What's goin' on, man? You look like you won the lottery or something."
"Or something," Jason replied. "Uh, that was Melody. She said yes to going to Homecoming with me." He turned to Rocky. "That doesn't bother you, does it? 'Cause if it does I won't go with her. I mean, it's not like a date or anything, we're just going to hang out."
Rocky let out a slow breath. "If that's the case I don't have a reason for it to bother me. We're all going to hang out in a group anyway…" He let out a little smile. "So I'll be on the sides while you guys slow dance, so what? I'm not really a dancing person, to be honest. I'm just going for the free food." He rubbed his stomach at the thought. "This way I can get out of my parents hair for a night, too."
"Ok, so what's the plan for tonight? Meeting at Tommy's then going to Kim's to pick up the girls?" Adam asked.
"Sounds good to me. My mom will love fussing over you guys," Tommy said with a laugh. "You need to cut your hair!" He mimicked her, moving his ponytail over his shoulder. "Take out that earring," he continued, pointing to Jason. "Stand up straight," he told Zack. "Wipe that sly grin off your face," he said to Rocky. "Remember to say please and thank you," to Adam. "And for the love of God, would it kill you to shave a little?" He finished to Billy. They all laughed as Tommy sighed and shook his head. "She has good intentions, though," he clarified. "It's just funny to hear it over and over again. And now you boys get to experience it with me. Have fun."
"Hey, are you sure you're ok with this?" Jason asked as he and Rocky went back to the mat to spar.
"Yeah, of course," Rocky said with a wave of his hand. "It's just a dance, it's not like you two are getting married, right?" Jason nodded. Rocky got down in a fighting stance, feeling his muscles tense as Jason got down in a stance. Rocky practically jumped out of his skin when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. "What do you want, guys? I'm in the middle of something." He didn't have to turn around to know that it was Bulk and Skull. It was as if he came to the school they set their sights on him and tried to make him feel miserable.
"Word on the street is that your best friend is going to the dance with Muscles Magoo over there," Bulk replied with a little laugh. Jason rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yeah, so?" Rocky demanded, an edge to his voice.
"So it seems like you're being replaced," Bulk replied.
"I'm not–"
"It's pretty fair, don't you think?" Bulk interrupted him. "You replaced her with Aisha, now she's replacing you." Bulk and Skull started laughing.
"Don't listen to them, Rocky, no one replaced anyone," Jason said, grabbing his arm. "We're all friends and that's what matters."
"Yeah," Rocky said softly.
"Hmmm, maybe if I can get Rocky and Jason pitted together it'll force the Power Brats to choose sides. Thus splitting them up and 'causing them to fight with each other. If they don't want to work together than the Power Rangers will be history!" Rita laughed triumphantly, moving her telescope. "Goldar, go and distract the Rangers! Keep them occupied as long as possible!" Rita demanded.
"As you wish, boss!" Goldar replied before vanishing with a group of Putties.
"Finster! I need you to make a clone of Melody," Rita said, turning to the monster maker.
"I would, Your Heighness, but I need some sort of sample from her to be able to make a clone of her," he replied timidly. "However, there is another way…" he said, rubbing his chain.
"Oh really? Tell me! Tell me, tell me!"
"Uggh, it's like nails on a chalkboard," Zedd muttered, rubbing his temples.
Rita chose to ignore him as Finster continued to rub his chin. "The easiest way to create a clone of sorts is to use a mirror. All you have to do is make sure she's standing in front of it and zap the mirror with some of your magic. Then the mirror version of her would come to life. You just have to get the real Melody out of the way so the Rangers don't suspect a thing."
"That's a brilliant idea, Finster!" Rita rushed to her chair and grabbed her wand, holding it tight in her hands. "Now all we have to do is wait."
"Rocky, focus!" Adam ordered as he patted the cube of foam that was attached to his hand. "You're supposed to kick here, not at my face."
Rocky hit the sides of his head and mentally scolded himself. C'mon man, pay attention! Don't screw up like you always do. He paused briefly at his own thought but shook his head, got into a fighting stance, and started bouncing on his toes. Adam crouched a bit, bracing himself for the attack that Rocky was going to throw at him. Rocky jumped and executed a spinning heel kick. He groaned once he landed back on the ground, instantly knowing his mistake.
"Maybe we should call it a day," Billy said gently. "If you can't focus now you won't be able to focus later. Let's just wait until the dance is over and see if your mind is in the right place then."
"You have a good point Billy. Besides I have to shower before picking up Angela and getting here. I need to make sure the DJ arrives so I won't be able to take pictures with you guys, sorry," Zack said as he packed his bag.
"We can always take pictures once we get here, no worries," Tommy said, patting him on the arm. The rest of them started packing up their things and, as a group, left the Youth Center, talking excitedly about the dance. Rocky was walking a bit slower behind them, his hands shoved into the pockets of his pants, his head hung low. Tommy glanced back over his shoulder and was about to call him out on it when there was a flash of light.
"There you are, Power Rangers," Goldar called out as Putties dance around him.
"Oh no, not now," Zack groaned.
"We can hold off the Putties while you guys go after Goldar," Jason said as he and Zack clenched their hands into fists.
"Are you sure?" Tommy asked.
"Yes. Contact the others, quickly!" He ordered before he and Zack ran at the Putties that were taunting them.
"Alpha, Goldar is attacking near the Youth Center. Contact Kim and Aisha, we need help right away," Tommy said into the Communicator.
"Contacting them now," Alpha responded.
"All right, let's do it guys."
"Right," Adam, Rocky, and Billy replied.
"It's Morphin' Time!"
"Uuggghhh! That's the fifth dress you've tried on! Just pick one so we can leave!" Melody groaned, slumping in her chair in front of the dressing room. Kim was sitting next to her with her pink dress in her arms. Trini was sitting on the other side, twisting her hands; a dress was also in her lap.
"You haven't gotten your dress yet," Kim pointed out.
"'Cause I can find one in less than five minutes, not two hours like some people I could mention."
Kim just smiled. "Let Aisha try on as many dresses as she wants. The right dress is supposed to make you feel like a princess."
"Spare me the sickening details."
Suddenly the door burst open and Aisha came out, spinning. "Well, what do you think?" She was wearing a short, gold Taffeta dress that shimmered underneath the light from the store. "I'm really feeling this one, guys. And I all ready have the perfect shoes to go with it," she said excitedly.
"That dress is totally rad, Aisha. You should buy it, you look so hot!" Kim gushed.
"Yeah, Adam won't recognize you once he sees you," Trini agreed. Aisha's cheeks darkened a bit as she smiled and clasped her hands in front of her. Suddenly a six-tone beep filled the air and they stiffened as Melody looked around.
"Did someone's phone go off?" She asked as she looked around.
"Actually that was a, um, beeper from the vet," Aisha replied, her eyes shifting slightly. "I get beeped when there's an emergency."
"Is everything ok?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a small emergency," Aisha responded with a small wave of her hand. "But, um, just to be safe I think Trini and Kim should come with me. She's the only other person who can calm the animals down," she continued, staring hard at Kim who nodded and stood. "So, can you pay for my dress?" She held out a credit card before dashing into the dressing room and came back out a second later. "We won't be gone long, we can meet up at the, um, Food Court. Buy anything you want with that card while you're waiting, ok?"
"Um, ok," Melody said hesitantly as Aisha, Kim, and Trini shoved their dresses into her arms. She watched them run out of the store and dash around the corner. "Weird," she muttered to herself, shaking her head. A sudden flash of red caught her attention. She whipped her head around and stared at the mirror in front of her, squinting. She put the dresses down on a chair and walked in front of the mirror, staring hard. She leaned to the left and the right, trying to see if it was light bouncing off of a sequin or something. She stood up straight and put her right hand on her hip. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw that her reflection put the opposite hand on her hip. She blinked and saw that the reflection in the mirror was just that, her reflection. The hand was put on the right hip. "Maybe some food will help," Melody muttered to herself, turning away from the mirror. "My eyes must be playing tricks on me." She reached out for the dresses when a hand clamped onto her wrist. "Hey!"
Looking up, she sucked in her breath when the red eyes of a Putty stared back at her. She brought back her other fist to punch the Putty when another hand grabbed her. She turned her head and saw that she was surrounded by Putties. She did all she could to try and get them off of her but they were too strong. The next thing she knew she was engulfed in white light and then everything went black.
Aisha, Kim, and Trini looked over their shoulders as they ducked down behind a wall of potted plants. They glanced around before Kim lifted her Communicator to her watch. "What's up, Alpha?" She muttered.
"Kimberly, Aisha, you need to head to the park as soon as possible. Tommy and the others are being attaked by Putties and Goldar."
"Oh man," Kim muttered, lowering her hand.
"I'll come with you. I can help keep the Putties distracted," Trini said. Kim hesitated. "Melody all ready thinks we left anyway. It'd be weird if I suddenly came back without you guys."
Kim nodded. "We're on our way, Alpha." She glanced at Aisha and Trini, who moved their hands to their Communicators. They all pressed a button at once and were engulfed in a white, pink, and yellow light before disappearing and reappearing at the park.
"Hey guys, need some help?" Kim called as she and Aisha ran up. Aisha winced when sparks flew once Goldar's sword connected with Rocky's chest.
"That thought came to mind," Adam replied.
"Ready, Sha?" Kim asked.
"Ready," Aisha replied as they moved their hands behind their backs.
"It's Morphin' Time! PTERYODACTYL!"
"SABER-TOOTH TIGER!"
Once morphed, Trini and Kim raced in to help Billy, Adam, Tommy, and Rocky. They landed as many punches and kicks on the gold monkey as possible. He easily blasted them out of the way with a swing of his sword, causing many sparks to fly into the air. Kim barely felt the full blow of his sword anymore but she did feel the pressure and her side hurt in a noticeable way but not enough that she would draw attention to it.
Tommy managed to fight against Goldar a little longer using Saba but then, in the middle of the fight, Goldar and the rest of the Putties vanished. "Whoa," Tommy muttered when Goldar disappeared suddenly. He stayed tense, as if waiting for Goldar to jump at him out of nowhere. When Goldar didn't come back he sighed and relaxed. "Power down." He blinked and rubbed his arms, checking them for cuts and bruises. "Is everyone ok?" he asked, turning to look at his friends and making sure they were accounted for.
"I'm in need of a hot shower, but otherwise I'm fine," Aisha replied.
"I'm with you on the shower," Kim agreed, rubbing her side.
Rocky rubbed his shoulder. "I could do with a massage instead. Gosh, my shoulder hurts."
"Aren't you glad you're not a dancing person?" Adam joked.
"Ha ha."
"Speaking of dance, guys, we left Melody at the mall," Trini said, running up.
"Oh my gosh. We have to go," Kim announced. "See you guys tonight." Trini, Kim, and Aisha waved before teleporting back to the mall.
"We should get to Tommy's before the parents start to worry," Zack suggested. The boys agreed, grabbing their things and started the walk to their cars.
Melody woke up to the feeling of landing on hard floor. She groaned and rolled over, pushing herself up to her knees. She looked around herself and saw a lot of fog. Standing, she rubbed her sore shoulder and looked around. There was no doorway and no windows, just some spaces on the wall that had some sort of space patter on it. "Where am I," she muttered.
"You're home. Well, your new home."
Melody's eyebrows narrowed together at the voice and she turned around only to see herself. Smirking. Melody took a step back and the other Melody took a step forward. Melody lifted her right hand and the other Melody lifted her left.
"I'm real," the other Melody commented with an eye roll. "You weren't seeing things at the Mall."
"What in the world is going on?" Melody demanded.
"I'm your reflection, dimwit," the other Melody replied. "Geeze, you're almost as slow as Rocky. Remind me why he's your friend; the guy's a gluttonous idiot."
"Shut up!" Melody snapped, balling her hands into fists. "Where am I?"
"You're on the Moon, in the Chamber of Command, home of the Emperor Zedd and Empress Rita, Emperor and Empress of all that is evil," the other Melody replied. "Or, as I like to call them, Mom and Dad."
"Rita? Zedd?" Melody repeated. "I've heard those names somewhere before."
"On the news. Yeah, they're the ones who are trying to destroy the Power Rangers." She scoffed, "Trying being the keyword there."
"What do they want with me?" Melody demanded.
"Nothing," the other Melody replied. "Not yet, at least. They just want to cause some problems and here I am. I was wondering how long I was going to be stuck in that mirror." She stretched. "And now, I get to go to the dance, with a hottie might I add. I don't understand why you aren't falling for that muscle clad body of yum."
"Ugh, spare me," Melody said, making a face. "But why do they want me, er, my reflection so badly?"
The other Melody grinned. "If you, a simple civilian, are here the Power Rangers will come and try to rescue you, like they do to every human being in Angel Grove. Then Rita and Zedd will be able to capture them and expose them easily."
"And the mirror me?"
"I'm just here long enough to get your friends mad at each other long enough to get them distracted so they won't notice that I'm not you. And the plus side is that I get to go on the date you didn't want in the first place." The other Melody smirked and backed away. "See you never. It'll be fun having your life." The other Melody disappeared in a bolt of lightning and was replaced by a man that seemed to be made of muscles and aluminum.
"Welcome to your last home on Earth, well, the Moon in this case," the creature said in a gravelly voice. "Why don't you…hang around?" He moved his staff which had a large Z on top. Before Melody could move chains and shackles were bound to her wrists and ankles. He laughed evilly as Melody tried to pull away from the restraints, groaning at the burning pain in her shoulders.
"Girrlll, you look hot! Tommy's jaw is going to hit the floor," Aisha commented, looking over Kim's shoulder into the mirror. Kim grinned as she applied mascara to her right eyelashes. "And that dress is so cute! I wish I found one like that."
"The only way you could get one like this is if you ordered it, like I did months ago," Kim replied, capping the mascara tube. "But you look amazing yourself. Adam will think so too." She turned her head. "Hey Melody, are you done yet?" She yelled at the closed bathroom door. "Come out so we can see," she ordered.
Trini, who was sitting on Kim's bed, turned her head towards the door when the knob twisted. Melody stepped out of the bathroom, looking at the floor as the girls gushed over her dress. It was strapless and a pale gray-blue with a lighter blue sash across her waist.
"You look amazing. Jason won't know what hit him," Trini said with a smile. Kim noticed that it was tight in the corners but didn't say anything. She grabbed their purses off of the chairs and handed them out.
"Ok, I think I can hear the boys downstairs, let's go," Kim said with a large smile before opening the door. Walking towards the stairs the voices of the boys got louder and louder. Kim's heart started beating harder against her chest as she slowly went down the stairs. She finally turned the corner and saw her boyfriend. She couldn't help but smile, noticing how much more handsome he looked in a tux with his hair down. Most girls thought it was weird that she was dating a boy whose hair was longer than hers, but she loved how long it was and loved being able to run her fingers through his hair, which she really had the urge to do now.
"Wow, you guys look great," Rocky said, causing them all to turn around.
Tommy's eyes lit up when his eyes rested on Kim. Her dress was a hot pink, strapless, bubble dress, that had a white tie tied to the side that flattered her small frame. She clasped her hands in front of her and smiled as Tommy walked over to her, a box for her corsage in his hands. "You look beautiful, Beautiful."
Kim giggled. "You don't look bad yourself."
"Thank you." Without taking his eyes off of her he gently took her right hand and slid her corsage over her hand. She blushed under his gaze and turned to her mother who was holding out his boutonniere. She took it and carefully pinned it to his lapel. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side so her mother could take a picture.
"Aww, you two look so cute," Mrs. Hart gushed.
"Mooom," Kim muttered, embarrassed.
"Ok, I got it," Melody said, pushing the pin through Jason's lapel. She glanced at the other boutonniere box that was sitting by her side and bit her lip. The real Melody would give it to him and I gotta stay in character long enough. Might as well get it over with. "Excuse me," she said to Jason before grabbing the box and walking over to Rocky who was standing on the outside of the group's circle. "Hey St…er…Rocky."
A smile broke onto Rocky's face as he looked at her. "Wow, Bammers, you look amazing."
Why the hell did the give each other such ridiculous nicknames? Melody forced a smile and held out the boutonniere. "I didn't want you to feel left out so…" she let her voice trail off.
"Thanks, Mellie."
Melody tried not to pull a face at the nickname as she pinned the flower to Rocky's lapel. They posed for a few pictures for their parents before getting into the cars to head off to the dance. Once they got there they were greeted by Zack and Angela who were accepting tickets by the door.
"Hey man," Zack greeted Jason with a complicated handshake. "You all look great. Hurry up inside the live band is all ready playing and they're kickin'."
"Sounds like fun! C'mon Jason," Melody said as she grabbed his arm and dragged him inside. She glanced back at Rocky over her shoulder and smirked when she saw a confused look cross his features.
"You coming Tommy?" Kim asked when she noticed he wasn't following her.
"Yeah, I just want to check in with Zordon," he replied.
"You actually brought your Communicator?" Kim asked. Tommy looked at her as if she grew a second head. "I mean, the rest of us didn't. They don't attack us at night; we have nothing to worry about."
"I know, I just want to be sure. I'll meet you inside." He kissed her forehead.
"Ok, don't stay out too long, it's getting cold."
Tommy nodded and backed away, shielding himself behind a few trees before bringing his Communicator to his mouth. "Alpha, it's Tommy."
'What's wrong, Tommy?"
"I don't know. I get this weird feeling that something's going to happen but I can't put my finger on it," Tommy replied.
"Tommy, there seems to be a source of negative energy coming from the dance, as if someone is under Rita's control. We'll keep our scanners searching everyone to be sure, but that's all we can do," Alpha said.
"Thanks, Alpha. Over and out." Tommy lowered his wrist, pushing his sleeve back over his communicator and headed inside. He grabbed Kimberly's arm and pulled her onto the dance floor, twirling her around as he laughed.
He had his eyes on her the entire night. Her beauty was so captivating that he couldn't bear to take his eyes off of her. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world, in the entire universe even. There was no way any other girl on the planet could rival Kim. They danced song, after song after song, staying close together as if they had melted into one person. They finally took a break when Kim said that her feet were starting to hurt. Tommy kept a hand on her waist as he lead her over to the table that Rocky was currently occupying. He was slumped in his chair, a bored expression on his face.
"Hey Rocks, what's wrong?" Kim asked, sitting next to him.
"I'm bored," he replied. "Melody won't even talk to me; she's too busy with Jason." He made a face when he said the Original Red's name. "I don't even know why I came to this stupid dance," he sighed.
Kim looked at Tommy with a questioning look in her eyes. Tommy nodded and she kissed his cheek before grabbing Rocky's hand. "C'mon, let's dance," she said trying to pull him to his feet.
"I don't know," he said, turning to Tommy.
"It's all right, man. I need to do something anyway," Tommy said with an encouraging nod. Rocky nodded back and let Kim drag him onto the dance floor. Tommy backed out of the school's Gym, glancing around the hallways to make sure he was alone. "Alpha, it's Tommy. Melody's been acting weird, could you scan her for me?"
"Sure thing, Tommy. Commencing molecular scan right…now." Tommy waited patiently; looking around himself to make sure he wasn't being watched or overheard. "It seems that it is Melody, molecularly, but there are traces of Rita's magic over her."
"What do you mean?"
"It seems as if Rita has somehow made a clone of Melody using a mirror," Zordon replied. "It's Melody molecularly but Rita used her magic to get her reflection to become evil. There's no telling what she can do, you have to get her out of there."
"Will do, Zordon, but where's the real Melody."
"I've been able to track down her location. Zedd and Rita have her trapped in their palace."
"I'm the only one with my Power Coin with me. I guess I'm going to have to handle this one on my own," Tommy announced. "If anything comes up transport them and their things to the Command Center, but don't get them unless it's necessary. I don't want to ruin the dance for them."
"Understood Tommy."
"Over and out." Tommy lowered his wrist and moved to the door to get back into the Gym. It opened in his face and he jumped out of the way. He watched as Melody glanced over her shoulder before rushing down the hall. Tommy waited a few paces before following her outside.
"Everything's going according to plan, Rita. Give me at least another hour and then you can strike," Melody muttered.
"Good job, Melody!" Rita's raspy voice praised her.
Tommy stepped out of the shadows, startling Melody. "Uh, hey Tommy," she said with a forced smile. "What're you doing out here? Did you notice Kim dancing with Rocky? She's being a little unfaithful, don't you think?"
"Save it. I know you're not Melody," Tommy snapped.
The other Melody smiled. "You Rangers, I thought you were smarter than this. I was wondering how long it would take for you to figure it out. Oh well." She shrugged and snapped her fingers. In a small explosion where Melody stood a monster with a mirror stomach appeared in her place. "Come and get me, White Ranger."
"You asked for it," Tommy muttered. "It's Morphin' Time! Tigerzord!" Tommy felt a surge of energy rush through his veins once he was encased in the White Ranger suit. Mirror Monster and Tommy circled each other, each waiting for the other to strike first. Tommy made the first move, rushing at the monster, Saba held high in his hands. He managed to land a strike on Mirror Monster but was easily knocked away with a swing of its arm. Tommy ran at the Mirror Monster again, this time aiming a flying kick at it, but Mirror Monster mirrored Tommy's attack, knocking him over.
"Try this one on for size!" Mirror Monster rasped. Suddenly two tied-eighth notes appeared in Mirror Monsters hands. Before Tommy could move Mirror Monster threw the notes, they spun around him, moving closer and closer with each rotation. Finally they struck him, shocking him. He let out a growl of pain as the notes flew away, but came flying back at him. He was shocked once more before the notes flew back into Mirror Monster's hands. "Give up, White Ranger!" Mirror Monster called, throwing the musical note boomerangs once more. Mirror Monster laughed gleefully as Tommy writhed in pain on the ground while being shocked. The boomerangs came back to Mirror Monster and Tommy rolled over, onto his hands and knees.
C'mon, Tommy, think! What can you do to attack this monster? Everything you do, it just copies it. Wait…that's it! Grinning under his helmet, Tommy got back to his feet, crouched in a fighting stance.
"You want more? Well, ok then." Mirror Monster threw the boomerangs again. Tommy grinned and jumped out of the way of the boomerangs. They went flying back to Mirror Monster, who was still reeling in shock from Tommy's dodge. It didn't have time to catch the boomerangs and they slammed into its mirror body. It screamed in pain as the mirror broke into spider web-like cracks.
"Let's go, Saba," Tommy said, pulling out his trusty sword. He tilted his sword back and threw it, watching it fly through the air and embedded itself into the crack, causing the monster to scream in agony. Saba then pulled itself out and, floating in air, shot laser beams at the cracked mirror. The beam bounced around in the mirror until it was illuminated in red light and exploded in a cloud of sparks. Mirror Monster grabbed its stomach while screaming in pain, slowly falling to its knees. It fell onto its face and then exploded completely in a shower of flames and sparks. "Huh, looks like Rita and Zedd are losing their touch," Tommy chuckled, returning Saba to its sheath. "Alpha, I'm transporting my way to Zedd's Castle. Don't contact the others; I think I can handle him."
"Don't underestimate their power, Tommy."
"I just have a feeling Alpha." He lowered his wrist, grabbed his power coin and transported in a beam of white light. He transported himself right into the chamber that Melody was stuck in. "Are you ok?" Tommy asked, kneeling by Melody.
"I'm fine," Melody replied. "My wrists kinda hurt but otherwise I'm fine." Tommy looked up and saw that her wrists were red, probably from trying to pull at her restraints.
"Don't' worry, I'll get you out of here."
"Not so fast White Ranger!" Tommy whirled around to see Zedd standing in the corner.
"Let her go, Zedd! She hasn't done anything to you!" Tommy snarled.
"What would be the fun in that? It brought you here, didn't it?" Zedd replied. He gripped his staff and swung it at Tommy. Tommy quickly brought out Saba and stopped the staff from being slammed down onto his head. The two quickly got into a heated battle, trying to win over the other. Zedd had the upper hand with the ability to produce lightning with his staff, easily electrocuting the White Ranger. Finally, when Zedd was about to deliver the final blow Tommy managed to hold up Saba, flat side of the blade out. The electricity bounced off of the flat blade and connected with the chains of the shackles, effectively breaking them. "No!" Zedd cried out in frustration as Tommy dashed to Melody's side as she rubbed her wrists. Before he could move Tommy teleported himself and Melody out of the room.
"Well, well, well, it looks like you failed, Zeddy," Rita commented as she appeared in the chamber.
"This was your plan, Motormouth!" Zedd pointed out. "Your plan failed!"
"I needed to do something while we waited endlessly for you to find whatever it is you're looking for!" Rita screeched.
"Ooh, I'm getting such a headache!" Zedd grumbled.
"Are you ok?" Tommy asked again once he and Melody had teleported outside of the school.
"Yeah," Melody replied. "Thanks for saving me." She glanced towards the school. "There's probably no point in even going. The other Melody probably screwed things up for me."
"I doubt that," Tommy replied, grinning under his helmet. "Go and have fun."
"Wait," Melody stopped Tommy, her eyes squinted. "Your voice sounds so familiar."
"You ever see news reports? That's probably where you heard me. See ya." Tommy transported before Melody could ask him anything else. He powered down behind the gym and let out a sigh of relief. "That was close." He lifted his watch to his mouth. "Zordon, this is Tommy. Is there a chance that we have to erase Melody's memory?"
"I don't believe you're in any danger of being exposed," Zordon replied. "We will save that for alter if anything goes wrong. Go and enjoy yourself, you've earned it."
"Thanks Zordon. Oh, Alpha, do you think you could transport her dress into her locker?"
"Sure thing, Tommy."
"Thanks Alpha." Tommy lowered his arm and rushed to the front of the Gym where he saw Melody pacing, arms crossed over her chest. "Mel, there you are," he said with a smile as he walked over to her. "Where were you?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Melody replied.
"Try me."
Melody hesitated. It sounded crazy in her head, now that she thought back on it, but maybe he would believe her. He's been in Angel Grove long enough that he's had to deal with the monsters…"Ok, long story short, I was at the mall when these Putties grabbed me and…moved me to this room that was where Zedd and Rita's place was. Then I was chained and shackled and held there as bait for the Power Rangers. Meanwhile, back here a clone of sorts took my place to try and get Rocky mad a Jason so you guys wouldn't notice I was gone. Apparently the White Power Ranger found out, beat the monster version of me, came to the Moon and brought me back here." Melody let out a breath after rushing to fit everything in one sentence. "And…you don't believe me." Melody sighed, defeated.
"No. I do," Tommy said quickly. "Rita and Zedd have captured us a few times as well, even some random kids around the place. The Power Rangers always got us out too. The important thing is that you're safe."
"Wait, did the other Melody mess things up?" She asked.
"Not really. Rocky's been glum since he heard that you decided to go with Jason, it didn't make a difference." Melody sighed and ran a hand through her ink black hair. "Come back inside, it's getting cold out," Tommy said, putting an arm on her shoulder. "Wait, you can't go to the dance wearing that," he nodded to her shirt and jeans.
"I guess I'm stuck wearing this," she said. "The other Melody had my dress."
"Not necessarily," Tommy replied, leading her back into the Gym. He took her to her locker and opened it.
"How'd this get here?" She asked, taking out her dress.
"Does it matter? Hurry and change so we can get back to the dance." He did an exaggerated dance moved which caused her to laugh before she rushed off to the bathroom. She came back out a few minutes later and followed him back into the gym.
"Mel, where have you been?" Jason asked as soon as she walked over to him.
"I, uh, had a stomach ache," she replied.
"Are you ok? Do you need a drink? Do you need to sit down?"
"I'm fine, Jason, but thanks." Melody smiled at him before looking around the room and spotted Rocky sitting in a chair, a glum look on his face. "Hey Jase, do you think I could–?"
"Go ahead," Jason replied as if reading her mind.
"Thanks." Melody moved her way through the crowd before reaching the table. "Can I sit here?" She asked, pointing at the chair next to Rocky.
"It's a free country," he replied without looking at her. She nodded and sat down. "How come you're not dancing with your date?"
"Because I want to talk to my best friend and make sure everything's ok," Melody replied. "Look, I'm sorry for, uh, ignoring you all night. But I have a good reason. See, I–"
"I thought we were friends, Mel," Rocky interrupted her.
"We are."
"Friends don't ignore their friends."
"I apologized all ready, Rocky. What else do you want?"
"I want to know why you're replacing me," Rocky replied, finally looking at her.
"I'm not replacing you!" Melody responded, an edge to her voice. "If anyone's replacing anyone, you're replacing me with Aisha."
"I didn't replace you."
"Maybe not but I feel like it. Whenever we play a game or whatever you two are always automatically on the same team and you always jump at the chance to help her out. You even teach her new katas whenever she asks."
"Now you know how I feel. Jason's always been around you, it's like I can't even do something with you without getting his permission first." Rocky rolled his eyes. "Not to mention whenever I try to do something with you, you all ready have plans with him to study."
"Rocky, I study with him because he's the only one who can help me in Chemistry class," Melody replied. "Let's be honest, Jason knows what he's doing and if I had Billy, Trini, or Adam help me it'd just make me even more confused with their smart talk, and he's just being nice to me 'cause I'm the new kid. You don't get upset when Zack helps me with some dancing. Why's Jason so special?"
Rocky struggled to get words out. There was no way he could say that he was a Power Ranger and he was afraid that Jason would try and take his spot back. He'd lose his powers and he didn't want that to happen, but what else could he say? That he was jealous? That would go over like a lead balloon. "I guess…I'm being a little selfish," he muttered. "Sorry, it's just…I want to pick up where we left off, being the best of friends."
"We can't do that, you know that," Melody said gently. "But we can start over from the beginning of the year." She smiled.
"Yeah, I guess we can." Rocky smiled in return.
"Yo yo yo, listen up everyone. This is the last song of the night, so grab that special someone and make it count," the DJ said into the microphone as a slow song came on.
"Want to dance?" Rocky asked. "You know, to celebrate our friendship?" He quickly added.
"I'm not much of a school dance person, you know that," Melody replied. "Besides, I think my 'date' is a little preoccupied." She pointed and Rocky followed his gaze, laughing when he saw Jason and Trini dancing together. Scanning the crowds they say Tommy and Kim, Adam and Aisha, Zack and Angela, and Billy dancing with a girl from the chess club.
"Oh well. So, tell me about what happened. Tommy said something about Zedd and Rita," Rocky said nonchalantly.
"You wouldn't believe it. I was at the mall and…"
A/N: What a sweet ending. Of course things can't stay this way for long. In my head the idea behind Zedd's and Rita's plan made sense but if it doesn't make sense here or has too many holes, please let me know. Please leave a review, they make me smile.
I would like to take this time to thank my faithful reviewers, ClassicTVFan, Ghostwriter, and DeSantosLove21 for reviewing consistently. They don't know how much the reviews mean to me and I wanted to give them a little shout out.