CHAPTER TWELVE: LEAPFROG
I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore, Adam thought as he studied his surroundings. He was in a garden of some kind, a sanctuary of grass, trees, and shrubbery. The trees were placed so that they encircled a vast pond. It took him a minute, but Adam finally recognized the place: he was in the courtyard of the Temple of Power, where Ninjor had given him his ninja powers, the place where he had bonded with his animal spirit.
But how did I get here? Adam wondered. The last I remember, I was fighting Goldar…and then the memories came rushing back: the Sentinel Knight crashing down to Earth, using the power of the grid to keep him alive, and Goldar's attack.
He injured me, Adam thought suddenly. He ran me through with his sword. Adam unbuttoned his shirt and examined his chest. There were three long, deep gashes running from his right shoulder to the left side of his torso, where the sword had slice his skin. There was also a gap about three inches wide where Goldar had impaled him. The wounds were open and they stung, but they did not bleed.
Kim! Adam thought in a panic. Where is she!? And the others!? None of them had been able to morph; the others could also be injured…or dead. The thought filled Adam with despair…and anger.
If he hurt her… Adam shook his head, clearing it of dark thoughts. But as he did so, another thought entered his head.
Am I dead?
Not yet.
Adam jumped back, wincing from the sudden intrusion into his mind.
Forgive me, the man said. I did not mean to startle you.
"Who are you?" Adam asked, though he did not know whom he was addressing; there was no one else in the garden.
I am a friend.
Adam could believe that. Somehow, the voice in his head did not feel foreign; he felt no malice in it. Instead, he found that he felt comfort in its presence. He felt connected to the voice, as though he'd known the force that animated it for years.
Yes, Adam, you have.
Adam scanned the garden again, searching. He heard a small, croaking sound come from the pond. Upon further inspection, he found that the sound was coming from a small frog that was sitting idly on a lily pad, watching him.
"My animal spirit," Adam murmured softly to himself.
Yes.
Adam watched as the frog as it leapt from lily pad to lily pad. When it reached the other end of the pond, the frog turned and stared at Adam again.
Come.
Adam steps onto the first lily pad, and he is struck by a vision. There is a floating island. It is lush, and green. Beasts of immeasurable size roam its forests and fly its skies. There was also a woman, dressed in a white gown and a crown of flowers. Adam recognized the place immediately; he'd heard about it from We's stories: this was Animarium. The woman was Princess Shayla.
Witness the beginnings of power.
Adam saw Ninjor building the Temple of Power. With his help, Shayla's warriors learn the way of the Ninja: they bond with the animal spirits. One of their number, Merrick, succumbs to the darkness and becomes Zenaku. Nevertheless, the Ninjetti were able to triumoh over Zenaku, and the monster he served, the vile Master Org. Peace reigned, and Animarium returned to whence it came. The vision fades.
Adam moves on to the second lily pad, and he is bombared by yet another vision.
A new evil arises, as does a new generation of heroes to fight it.
Zordon arrives on Earth, on the trail of Rita Repulsa, an evl sorceress. Animarium returns. Zordon builds his Command Center, and enlists the help of the Ninjetti. But Rita and her army of monsters were far more powerful than Master Org. The Ninjetti were decimated, and Animarium was banished to another realm, where it would stay for decades. Within his Temple, Ninjor fashions the power coins and infuses them with the spiritual energy of dinosaurs.
The six coins are given to remaining Ninjetti to enhance their power. The dragon warrior is slain, and his coin falls into Rita's possession. Using its power, Rita imprisons Zordon in a time warp.
In their final battle, the five warriors were able to trap Rita in a hyper lock chamber, which was then banished into space. Earth was safe again.
Adam steps onto the third lilypad. It shows him a vision of his own adventures as a Ranger, fighting Rita and Zedd, Mondo, Divatox, and Thrax. He sees himself leave his friends behind as he travels to the future. Wes Eric, T.J., and Jason are called upon to fight Mirloc. They all die, but not before Wes uses the last of his strength to capture Mirloc.
A small boy is in a hospital waiting room, sitting next to his mother. He is crying. An SPD officer salutes them both, and hands the child Wes's helmet: the visor is broken, and the helmet itself is blackened and charred.
Adam felt tears sting his eyes. So this was what befell his friends. I should have been there! I could have helped them! Poor Sky…
The vision shifts, and Adam is in Florida. He sees Kimberly practicing on a balance beam. His heart skips a beat…or two.
"Kim!" a voice yells. "Call for you!" Kim goes to the phone.
"Hello," She says. "Rocky?" she asks, surprised. She listens for a while, and then begins to tear up. When she speaks next, her voice is uneven.
"He's missing?" she asked, her voice cracking on the final syllable. "But that's impossible! How can you go missing inside a base that's full of Rangers!?"
Kim was on her knees now, leaning on the wall, hugging herself. All Adam wanted to do was reach out to her. To hold her, tell her everything was okay. But he couldn't do that, all of this had already happened.
The vision dissipates. There is one lilypad between Adam and the frog. Adam takes the final step forward.
Animarium is burning. Princess Shayla is dead, her warriors defeated. Ninjor is killed before he can build the Temple. Rita lies mangled and lifeless, never to become the Mystic Mother: the Power Rangers would never come to be. At the center of all the chaos stood a newly corporeal Lord Zedd, his sliver staff gleaming, the Corona Aurora atop his head.
The vision ends, and Adam comes face to face with… himself, the frog nowhere to be seen.
"Where is my animal spirit?" Adam asked.
Pseudo-Adam replied, "I am Kaeru, the manifestation of your animal spirit."
Kaeru looks exactly like Adam, except for his eyes, which were a vivid green. They gave the impression of fluidity, as though they were miniature pools.
"That vision you showed me…"
"Is what shall come to pass when Zedd recovers the jewels and uses them in conjunction with the crown. He will use their power to travel back in time and prevent the birth of the Ninjetti, destroying his enemy before it is born. This will allow him to conquer this Earth, as well as those that exist alongside it, without opposition.
"It also presents him with the opportunity to exact his revenge on Zordon, the man who stripped him of his power and his body."
"When he recovers the jewels?" Adam asked. "But that means… that means we fail."
Kaeru nods.
They are all going to die, Adam thought furiously. Bridge, Kira, Sky, Syd, Z, and Kim. They are all going to die. She is going to die.
Adam takes a deep breath, willing himself to stop shaking. Kaeru watches him with a cool disinterest.
"I brought you here because there is still a way to prevent that future from coming to pass, but it will require much effort and sacrifice on your part."
Adam thought of Kim, and steeled himself. "What do I have to do?"
Kaeru gives Adam a grim smile, and dissipates into the air. Adam hears his whisper in his head.
Come.