Rainbow of Friendship
A/N: In the previous chapter, I had Cam kind of comforting Ashley a couple times. I know that they don't make an obvious choice, since Cam is highly intelligent and Ashley is more of a cheerleader, prom queen, most-popular-girl-in-school type. I didn't originally plan it that way at all. I'm just going to let it go, however, and see where it takes me. Who knows? They might really like each other. You'll also note that Cam's color and animal were the same as Dulcea's. I did this purposely as a nod to Cam's wisdom – it seems to be very similar to Dulcea's, as Tommy's leadership abilities mimic Zordon's.
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August 28, 2006
3rd Person POV
Phaedos
The next morning, Tommy awoke to find Kimberly snuggled against his side, her arm thrown across his middle, one leg wedged between his own. He hugged her and stood up, attempting to ease the sudden tightness in his pants. He retrieved his breastplate and weapons from where he had piled them and put them on, then turned to the edge of the plateau and looked out over Phaedos. The sun was beginning to rise over the far hills and trees, and it looked like it would be a beautiful day.
He didn't know how long he stood there, but before he knew it, Kimberly had worked her way to his side and wrapped her arms around his middle. He flung his arm over her shoulders and regarded each of the Rangers, who had all woken up and joined him. He was responsible for them now.
"It's time. Let's go," he sighed. They headed out down the path, single file, with the more experienced Ninjetti interspersed between the new ones.
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Command Center
"Hi there," Jen approached Wes in the kitchen. It was still early and no one else was awake.
"Hey." Wes pulled out a chair for her as she came over with her fruit and yogurt.
"Wes-" she began. "I don't know what to say. I've really missed you."
He was about to say something, then looked at her face and thought better of it. Instead, he replied, "I've missed you, too. Do you know what it's like to think about the person you love every day of your life, going to bed wishing that she was with you, dreaming of her all night long, and waking up aching because your dreams were just that: dreams?"
"Yes, I do. Only in my case, it's not a 'she', it's you."
"So what do we do now?" he asked.
She sighed. "I don't know. Could you come back with me?"
"No," he shook his head. "I can't. My dad's sick, so I'm running BioLab right now, and I need to help Eric with the Silver Guardians. What about you staying in Silver Hills with me?"
"I can't. My family is in the future. And I can't leave Time Force – without you or Alex on the team anymore, I'm the leader."
"Yeah, I suppose that's true." He finished his cereal and pushed the bowl away. "This really sucks, Jen."
"I know." She put her head on his shoulder and felt the tears streaming down her face. She never cried, but she didn't know how else to handle her emotions.
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Phaedos
The Rangers entered a small clearing filled with the skeletons of what appeared to be dinosaurs. "Oh God!" Ashley turned green again, and Cam pulled her close.
"We need to work on that stomach of yours, Ashley," he whispered. She blushed.
"Welcome to Jurassic Park!" Adam announced.
"Very funny, Adam," Cassie replied.
The Rangers spread out, each inspecting the graveyard on their own. Ashley stayed close to Cam, hiding her face in his side if he paused too closely to one of the skeletons.
One such time, Ashley had turned her face away from the bone Cam had picked up and was inspecting, when movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Did her eyes deceive her, or was that skeleton moving? She screamed as the remains picked itself up and moved its tail towards where she and Cam were standing. Cam looked up and, pushing Ashley out of the trajectory of the tail, rolled away himself just before the massive tail bones crashed into the spot they were just occupying.
Rocky and Adam looked at each other, grinned, and ran up to the beast, blowing identical flying kicks to its backside. The skeleton snapped around, chasing after them.
"Rocky! Adam! Get out of there!" Kimberly called.
The men did manage to run out of the skeleton's path, only to introduce Kimberly and Trini to it. Scared, the women ran away and climbed into the crevice of another backbone. "Get away from us!" they shouted, kicking it.
Tommy and Billy turned around and jumped into action. They each picked up a bone lying nearby and began poking at the monster. It worked. The skeleton turned towards the two and began following them. They ran towards a tree, and, one after another, ran up the tree and flipped backwards, landing on the animal's back.
"Tommy!" Kimberly called.
"Billy!" Trini called.
The men rode the skeleton, rodeo style, for a few minutes, before Tommy saw something that gave him an idea. He nudged Billy and gestured to it. Billy nodded and grinned.
"Yo, Fossil Head! I've got a bone to pick with you!" Tommy shouted before pulling out a bone that connected the head from the rest of the skeleton. The monster stood for a second longer, then crumpled to the ground, taking Tommy and Billy with it.
"Are you OK?" Zack got to the guys first.
"Yeah, we're fine," Tommy groaned as he stood up.
"A few minor contusions, but no permanent damage," Billy added, putting his arm around Trini.
"Well, let's get out of here, before he decides to pull himself together or something," Conner suggested. Everyone laughed.
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Zedd's Palace
"So what's this about taking down the Power Rangers?" King Mondo, Queen Machina, and Prince Gasket entered the throne room. "Didn't we already try that?"
"Yes, but you haven't heard my plan," Zedd replied. "Almost everyone is here or on their way. Divatox is off with Rita somewhere, Gruumm is in his chamber, Morticon and Tritonico should arrive tonight, as well as Draconia and Hellifax."
"With all these members of the Evil Alliance, we should finally be able to bring those pesky Power Punks down!" Mondo realized.
Scorpina entered the room. "Lord Zedd, your putties have found it."
"Excellent," Zedd replied.
"What did they find?" Mondo demanded.
"Ooze."
"You found the place that Ooze landed?" Mondo asked, incredulous.
"We have, and after everyone gets here, we will unleash him! Ha, Ha, Ha!"
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Phaedos
The Rangers were walking through the jungle, chatting quietly in groups. Kimberly, talking with Tanya, Kat, Cam, and Ashley, reached down and picked two plants that were growing where she was walking. "Fascinating," she said.
Tommy heard and looked up. "What's so fascinating?" he called.
"These plants I found. This one," holding up the larger one, "is a Cycadeoidea. It's like a palm tree that evolved during the Cretaceous Period and went extinct during the K-T Extinction. And this one," holding up the smaller one, "is a Glossopteris. It's a fern-like plant that flourished and went extinct during the Triassic Period. I've studied both of these plants before, but never thought I'd live to see either one of them."
"That's great, Kimberly," Kat said. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by a scream from behind them. They turned around and saw Tori being pulled by two giant vines through the air. Looking up, Kimberly noticed the bright yellow pod and gasped.
"We have to get her loose!" She began pulling Tori back down, and soon had Kat, Tanya, Cam, Ashley, TJ, Carlos, and Andros pulling with her.
Kim got an idea and let go of Tori. Looking around for another Intermediary Warrior, she saw Adam. "Adam!" She gestured to her saber and Adam nodded, pulling his out, too. They began whacking, and soon had the girl free. Tori sobbed and reached for the nearest person, who happened to be Andros. He pulled her close and held her, murmuring soothing words to her.
"Tori, are you alright?" Tommy asked, coming back to join them. She nodded, but kept her face burind in Andros' chest.
"I'll keep an eye on her, Tommy," Andros stated.
"Thanks, man. We need to keep moving."
"I have a question for Kimberly," Tanya ventured.
"Yes, Tanya?"
"You obviously recognized that plant from somewhere," Tanya began.
"I did. It was another plant I have done research on. It's also extinct, though not as long as the other two. It's like a Venus Flytrap, only man-eating. Suffice it to say, the results wouldn't have been pretty." Tori shuddered and hugged Andros tighter.
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Angel Grove
Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, Scorpina, King Mondo, Queen Machina, Prince Gasket, Divatox, Emperor Gruumm, Morticon, Lord Tritonico, Draconia, and Dr. Hellifax were gathered around a giant purple egg in the middle of the Angle Grove Rock Quarry. "It has taken me 10,000 years to find it. And now that everyone is here," Zedd began, "Let's crack this egg!"
He raised his staff and pointed it at the egg, releasing beams of energy. The egg cracked and opened, revealing a quivering mass of glowing purple goo. "This is it?" Rita asked. "You spent 10,000 years looking for a tub of snot?"
"Quiet, witch!" Zedd hissed.
The goo moved and swirled, then rose and transformed into a purple being with clay-looking hair and a beard that looked like two more pieces of the purple clay twisted together.
"He's so handsome!" Divatox announces.
"Why thank you!" Ooze bows slightly. "Now, who disturbs the great Ivan Ooze?"
"My name is Lord Zedd, sworn enemy of all that is good and decent. It is a supreme honor to finally meet you."
"How can I ever thank you?" Ooze asked.
"Do you recall the name Zordon of Eltar?" Ooze screeched, reached for the sky, and shot beams of energy from his hands.
"I think he's heard of him," Morticon murmured.
"Zordon of Eltar….10,000 years ago he and Dulcea, that meddling she-devil of a witch, locked me up in that egg and threw away the key!"
"This will work beautifully," Zedd says quietly to himself.
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Command Center
"ALPHA, SENSORS INDICATE THAT RITA AND ZEDD HAVE RELEASED OOZE," Zordon announced.
"Ooze? Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi! What will we do, Zordon?"
"NOTHING, FOR NOW. WE NEVER ESCALATE A BATTLE UNLESS WE ARE FORCED. WE HAD BETTER HOPE THAT THE RANGERS COME BACK BEFORE OOZE STARTS ANYTHING. I HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE REMAINING TEAMS, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THEY ARE ABLE TO GO AGAINST ALL THESE FORCES AT ONCE."
"Ay-yi-yi. Please hurry, Rangers."
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Phaedos
The Rangers reached another clearing, with a pool, and what must be the monolith they were looking for. It was made of stone, impressive in height and look, and had several stone guardians keeping watch over the entrance. Tommy told the others to wait and approached the stone building. He held out a hand and wiped it over the breastplate of one of the statues, then turned around and shrugged. The statue replaced stone with armor and axes behind his back.
"Tommy!" Kim called. He turned around and jumped away just as the statue swiped the axes at him. The other seven statues came to life as well and began attacking the Rangers. They broke off into teams to handle the statues.
Andros, Cam, Rocky, and Tommy were fighting one statue. Adam, Zack, Billy, and Mike had another. Kim, Trini, Ashley, and Tori had the third. Kat, Tanya, Aisha, and Cassie had the fourth. Zhane, Cole, Hunter, and Dustin had a hold on the fifth. Blake, Shane, Conner and Ethan tackled the sixth. Trent, Jason, Justin, and TJ had the seventh, and Kira, Carlos, and Kendrix had the last one.
The statue that Kim, Trini, Ashley, and Tori were fighting backed them up onto a ledge without a way down. They were all fighting the statue, but didn't have the room to maneuver well. Tori saw a boulder above them and, gesturing to the other girls, made her way up. They all pushed against it, but couldn't find the strength between them to budge the giant rock. Tommy, Andros, Cam, and Billy all noticed what was going on and went to help the girls.
"Tommy got there first and found a sturdy stick. He side-kicked the statue, then used the stick as a lever as Andros, Cam, and Billy came up. "They're strong," he said, "But they're not very bright. Come on, help me push."
"Right," Kimberly said. They pushed on the boulder and it went crashing down on top of the statue, crushing it.
Aisha, Kat, Tanya, and Cassie were also having problems with their statue. They had managed to get themselves trapped in a small crevice with the monster poking his axe through the opening, stabbing at them. Rocky, Zack, and Mike left to help out the girls, leaving Adam fighting the two statues alone. They were both swiping at him while he dodged and turned their blows. "What is this, Pick on the Frog Day?" he asked.
"Adam!" Billy called. "Could you use a hand?"
"Thought crossed my mind," Adam retorted.
Billy unhooked his whip and threw the end down. "Adam!" Adam caught the end and held on while Billy jumped down the other side of the branch he had been standing on.
Adam went soaring up while one statue did an overhand swipe and sliced his partner in half. "Elevator going up!" Adam called.
"Elevator going down!" Billy replied, landing between the two halves. He looked to both sides and laughed. "Talk about a splitting headache!"
Adam came down again and helped Billy fight the other statue, while Rocky and Zack were being chased up the same path the girls had been earlier. They kicked and dodged, then Zack got an idea. "Will that whip hold two people?" he asked, pointing to a nearby branch.
Rocky looked and laughed, the idea dawning on him. "One way to find out," he said, releasing his whip and holding Zack, while he coiled the whip around the branch and swung out over the pond. The statue, trying to follow, fell over the edge and into the pond, which turned out to be made of acid. The stone hissed and sputtered, then went silent. Rocky and Zack landed safely on the ground and got into the fight again.
Zhane, Cole, Hunter, and Dustin were fighting against their statue, but not getting very far. Cole saw and opportunity with a low ledge hanging directly over the pond. "I have an idea," he told the others.
"Go with it, man," Hunter told him. Cole kicked the statue to get his attention, then ran towards the acid pond. With the statue right on his heels, he jumped over the pond and landed on the ledge. He turned just in time to see the statue fall into the pond with a satisfying hiss.
"Four down, three to go!" he yelled.
Kimberly was fighting against a statue with Kira, Carlos, Kendrix, and Trini when she got an idea. "Guys, stay back," she said, pulling out her nunchucks. She whirled and twirled them, a little unsure of how to use them, but getting the hang of it. When she was sure she had the statue mesmerized, she gave a mighty Whack! to the side of its head. The statue's head cracked along the line of impact, then crumbled. A few seconds later, the rest of the statue crumbled, too.
"I guess Dulcea was right," Kimberly joked. "These things really are deadly!"
"Kimberly, I need your help!" Tommy called. She ran up to meet him and he explained his plan to her and Billy. Billy got up into the tree he was in before, Kimberly climbed another one on the opposite side of the clearing, and Tommy climbed up onto a low ledge. Directly below and exactly in the middle of all three of them was one of the two remaining statues. Kim, Tommy, and Billy released their whips and simultaneously wrapped them around the statue. With a mighty pull from all three, the statue toppled backwards into the pond.
The remaining statue kept fighting the Rangers gamely. Jason, Trini, and Zack formed a plan and moved to execute it. Zack and Trini climbed into the trees formerly occupied by Billy and Kimberly, and Jason climbed into a tree opposite the monolith. Trini and Zack, holding onto vines, swung out and executed flying kicks to the monster, making it stumble backwards.
"Eight ball, corner pocket!" Jason yelled. He swung out on his vine, then performed a corkscrew kick, hitting the statue square in the chest. The stone being flew back, hitting the corner of the monolith and shattering.
"Alright!" Kira called. A series of hand slaps and hugs went around before they realized that the ground was shaking. The door of the monolith slid open, revealing a stone altar with the statues of the animal spirits on and around it.
Small beams of light came out and flew around the Rangers, seemingly getting to know them. Ethan recognized what they were. "New zords!" he breathed.
The holograms of their new zords completed circling the Rangers and finally entered into them, changing their Ninjetti costumes into Ranger uniforms of the same colors, in the style of the original team. "Our morphers appear to be online," Cam commented. Ashley hugged him, then high-fived Cassie.
"Come on, guys," Tommy shouted. "Let's go home!"
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A/N: The plants that Kim found really did exist in the time that this story mentions. I did a little research and finally found their names. I know in the movie, there's only four of the statues, but four statues verses 31 Rangers? I had to make it a little harder for our heroes!
