DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POWER RANGERS

Chapter 14 – Part 2: The Great Freeze

"Oh great", Tommy slumped backwards into his chair, running a stressed hand through his black hair. "Okay, Hayley, could you track the signal on Tori's morpher?"

"I can try", Hayley replied as her head drew back from the computer screen and tilted towards him slightly; "But there's no promises it'll work under such cold conditions, either that, or she's too far away for the signal to reach us".

"Well, I guess it's a start", Tommy sighed as Hayley turned back and her lightning-fast fingers worked their magic across the enhanced keyboard.

"In the meantime, you should-..." the Doctor's words were promptly drowned out by the blaring of the alarms. Naturally, Hayley brought up the surveillance cameras that had reported the disturbance and a familiar face was visible onscreen and Tommy didn't look surprised; "...Do what you do best".

The trio grinned right back at him before standing at the ready, their confidence visibly restored.

"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!"

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!"

"DINO THUNDER, POWER UP, HA!"

"It's nice to see you again so soon!", the creature from earlier that had succeeded in completely freezing all the water in sight and as an encore, had frozen and kidnapped their Blue Ranger was once again stood before the team.

"I'm afraid the same doesn't go for you", Adam looked unimpressed with the monster's attempt at wit.

"Now what have you done with Tori?" Xander pointed an accusing, gloved finger.

"It's funny you should mention your friend...", the creature absent-mindedly stroked the blade of the sword at his side that was also, seemingly made of ice. "Hornets!" The dumb footsoldiers appeared obediently at his side, skidding slightly on the ice; "Destroy this worthless town!"

"I don't think so!", the Rangers turned, about to hunt down the Hornets before a voice interrupted them.

"Ah, Rangers?" The group swiftly faced the monster again, impatience written in their body language. "I have a dilemma for you..."

"Well I suggest that you get on with it because we haven't exactly got all day to argue", Kira jerked a thumb at the rampaging footsoldiers.

"I found Tori!" Hayley's voice loudly interrupted through each of the morphers, not escaping the ears of the monster and surprisingly, it smirked at the news, as if it was expected.

"Fantastic!" The Rangers grinned at each other through their helmets; "Looks like you've played your last card buddy".

"Oh, but I haven't...", the creature swiftly called on a new hoard of Hornets to join their comrades in destroying Reefside; "Now then...do you save the city?" he gestured to the carnage and screaming civilians that surrounded them; "Or do you save your friend?" the monster leant back against a wall smugly; "It's your choice".

For a moment, all the Rangers could do was flit their eyes back and forth between each other and Hayley's voice rattled through to them again; "Guys? Didn't you hear me? I found-..."

"Yeah, yeah we read you..." Adam quickly replied; "Okay, think you guys can clear up here?" he gestured between Xander, Kira and the enemies.

"You know it!"

"Great. Hayley? Just show me the way". Adam sped off on his ever-sleek Shark Cycle in search of his teammate.

"And as for these guys..." Xander flicked a wrist at the Hornets before nodding at Kira.

"They're toast!" Kira joined him in the charge, also briefly wondering why the monster hadn't either chased after Adam or tried to stop herself and the Green Ranger.

Drawing her Ptera Grips, the Yellow Ranger leapt into action, suddenly realizing just how many Hornets they were up against. Nevertheless, she rammed her weapons into the chest of the nearest victim with the appropriate level of energy before executing the perfect tornado kick into another.

Xander however, decided on a slightly more forceful approach as he called on his favored giant boxing gloves. "Mystic Force Fighters!" With a small war cry, the Green Ranger pummeled two Hornets into the hard concrete of the ground simultaneously, blowing both to smithereens.

As the sound of many footsteps fast approached, Xander whirled around, yet was too late in putting his plan into effect as several footsoldiers roughly grabbed hold of his hands. "Hey! Get off me!" The Green Ranger struggled against his captors, but the power of numbers was too strong and they finally wrestled him to the ground. "Kira! A little help?"

"Sorry, i'm a bit busy at the minute!" came the reply through gritted teeth as Kira was met with a similar situation to her teammate, her Ptera Grips lost somewhere in the fray.

"Just as planned", the monster observed as he coolly observed from a safe distance.

Xander just about managed to push himself to his feet but no sooner had he done did he receive a harsh foot in his stomach, sending his hurtling painfully backwards. The Hornets drew their lethal-looking daggers as he once again attempted to right himself, and mercilessly fired a projection of laser fire at the Green Ranger. It was the final straw for Xander as he was catapulted high into the air, sparks and the odd burst of smoke flying from his suit as he finally thudded hard back into the ground.

Clutching his beaten chest, Xander looked over just in time to see his Yellow counterpart slashed several times with the same daggers and she crashed down beside him. "I...refuse...to...be...beaten...by...Hornets!" Xander growled as he staggered somewhat before standing on his shaky feet. Balling his fists in defiance, the Green Ranger's energy level seemed to rocket skywards as he felt a familiar surge of power. The Hornets watched on, probably more in dumb curiosity than intelligent surveillance as he slowly reached for his morpher before flipping it open purposefully...

"LEGENDARY SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!"

1...2...0...Galwit Mysto Neramax!

"Element of Earth, Green Legend Warrior!" The newly-transformed Xander stood proudly, having rightly earned back his highest level of power.

At this point, the monster's interest shot through the roof and his eyes widened; "What?!"

"Can't leave me out!" a determined Kira slowly stood up beside her empowered teammate. Holding her arms in an 'X' across her chest, she uttered the infamous words...

"SUPER DINO MODE!"

Tori Hanson's eyes were open. Despite being encased in a block of ice several meters thick, she was still conscious...That would probably be down to her affinity for her element.

Her unblinking eyes stared ahead, completely motionless; paralyzed just like the rest of her body. She could see and hear to a certain extent but that was about it, aside from that, she was ridiculously numb, the almost unbearable biting pain from the cold flooding over her body as if invisible needles were being constantly jabbed into her skin.

The more she thought about her predicament, the more panicky she became as old memories floated to the front of her mind, memories she would rather forget.

A seven-year old Tori clung to her father's arm as they slowly stepped onto the ice, balancing themselves before standing fully upright.

It was a beautiful winter's day; the Hanson family were spending a few days visiting friends in the northern part of the country. A fresh, thick layer of glistening snow had fallen during the night and the temperature had fallen so low that the small lake in the middle of a nearby park had frozen over completely.

The young Tori slowly let go of her dad as she found her feet, the skates attached to them threatening to slide away. She attempted to mimic her father as he pushed himself off, gliding effortlessly to her side, yet she fell straight over.

"Ready?" her dad gripped her by the arm and stood by her side; "Move your feet like this...", he demonstrated on the spot and made his daughter copy his moves until she was confident enough; "Okay, now try it for real". He released his hold and ushered Tori forwards, her feet nervously remembering what he had taught her.

She stumbled a few times, but nevertheless got back up and started again and before she knew it, young Tori was ice-skating. "Look dad!", she positively beamed as she swept towards him; "I can do it!"

"That's great! Keep it going!", he grinned back towards her.

The future Blue Ninja Ranger however, was straying, she was too proud of her achievement to be taking any real notice of where she was going as she came to a stuttering halt under the shadow of a large willowing tree, the branches hanging over the lake.

The ice was clearly thinner here, the tree protecting it from the cold air that had flared during the night. Tori heard the creak of the thin ice as it slowly cracked under her weight; "Dad, what was that noise?"

"Come back over here Tori, I don't want you going too far away".

Crack! Louder this time as the fissure line spread under her feet producing many smaller ones along the way and liquid water began to seep through...

The ice gave way.

"Dad!"

"Tori!", the older man raced towards his daughter as she plunged into the freezing water, several people not too far away turning at the sound of commotion.

"Dad...h-help!" Tori finally surfaced, spluttering out the freezing liquid that she had gulped in, barely able to move her limbs, the skates and her sodden clothes weighing her down even more.

"I'm here, grab my hand!" her father stretched out as far as he possibly could.

"C-can't...r-r-reach!" she was almost paralyzed by the cold now as her head slowly dipped back under the water.

"Hang on! Don't go under!" her father yelled just as another man appeared at his side, a stranger, wanting to help.

"Kick your legs!" the man coaxed her.

Tori floundered wildly, attempting to move her feet, with the heavy skates still attached, yet she moved towards them ever so slightly.

"That's it...pretend you're in the sea with your dad...swim towards him".

Tori kicked with all her might, getting her just within touching distance as her fathers hand reached out to her; "That's great, just a little further...", his hand clamped around her arm and he wasted no time in yanking her clear out of the water.

Tori felt herself lifted as she finally fell down on top of her dad, unable to speak as she shivered uncontrollably, the icy water dripping from her, unbearably cold.

Her father sighed with relief as he held her tight, profusely thanking the man that had come to help. He rid his daughter of her sodden jacket and shed his own before wrapping it tight around her. "It's okay now, you're safe" Tori merely nodded into his chest and hugged him hard as he carried her back onto solid ground.

So for pretty much the rest of her childhood, Tori had been afraid of the water, the ice, the dreaded cold that came with it…

…Until one day sat on the beach, having a nice picnic with her two closest friends from school when she was about fifteen. She had been enthralled by two older men who had brought their boards with them and had expertly surfed the biggest waves out there. They commanded the water expertly, knowing exactly what they were doing and that was when Tori realized that she didn't want to be afraid anymore…

Little did she know, in just a couple of months time, she would be chosen, along with the guys by her side, to be enrolled in a secret Ninja Academy where she would learn to command the element that she had feared the most and become an expert in her own right, finally earning the title of 'Wind Power Ranger'.

"There you go, a hundred yards on your right and you should be there".

"Thanks Hayley".

"No problem".

The Shark Cycle pushed forwards, skidding slightly on the thick ice, but remaining upright. "Gotcha!" The morpher's signal had led Adam to a random patch of wasteland where nothing much grew except the odd weed and several long-abandoned buildings littered the area. Slap bang in the middle of the ground stood what looked like a huge ice-cube, yet Adam could see the faint, yet unmistakable outline within.

The Black Ranger began to dismount his bike, but no sooner had he done so did no less than fifty Hornets appear in front of his eyes and immediately charge towards him. "Uh huh…", he looked less than impressed with their ambush tactics but nevertheless, Adam swung his leg back over the Shark Cycle and hit the throttle, kicking up a whirlwind of dust behind him as he shot forward once more.

The Hornets dutifully scrabbled to grab a hold on him as the bike whizzed through them, their hotter-than-should-be-normal hands tugging at Adam's arm yet he yanked it firmly out of reach; "I don't think so!", suddenly slamming on the brakes, Adam leant forwards, the bike following suit as the back end came clean off the ground. The Black Ranger twisted the machine sharply and several of the footsoldiers got in the way of the back wheel as it crashed into their upper bodies. "Anyone else?" Adam taunted as he revved the engine threateningly, now back on two wheels.

Of course, the Hornets obliged and ran at him once again; however, there was no messing around this time from Adam as he forced the Shark Cycle to leap high into the air, just as he drew his Blade Blaster. The laser fire pelted downwards from both the weapons system integrated into the bike and the blaster in Adam's hand as the Hornets all fell quite rapidly to the ground.

Grinning with triumph Adam dismounted once more and strode over to his captured teammate…

"Not so fast!"

"Aw man…" it was like déjà vu as yet another huge group of footsoldiers miraculously appeared as a barrier in front of him; protecting their prize. "That is it…" Adam could feel his breath quicken in his throat as he struggled to contain the ferocious energy he held in…

"METALLIC ARMOR, POWER UP!"

And just like back in his glorious days as a Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger, Adam was transformed into what he described as his 'kick-ass' mode.

"Ha!" he barreled forwards, his now iron-like fist slamming the first group of Hornets into oblivion with a single strike. He then used the burst of super-speed that came with the power-up to appear in front of two of the enemy before flipping them both onto their backs.

The remaining creatures now stood in an arc before Adam, taunting him with their daggers. The Black Ranger drew his Power Axe, which now shimmered like his suit before flinging it expertly towards them…it curled and flipped over in the air but not before it struck every single one of the Hornets down. Adam swiftly caught his weapon and it came full circle and surveyed the carnage with a hint of smugness; "And that's how it's done!"

Axe still drawn, he ran over to the giant ice cube and hammered on its surface; "Tori?! It's me, I'm getting you out of here!", he yelled, hoping she could hear him.

Inside the frozen block, Tori wanted to shout back, the relief would've been evident in her voice had she actually been able to speak…it was so cold now, almost unbearably so.

Meanwhile, Adam held the Axe high above his head before smashing it down onto the ice.

THUD.

"What?!" he looked disbelievingly between his blade and the surface and realized that he hadn't even chipped it. Trying again, he swung with all his might, yet the same result prevailed. Looking skywards however, he also noticed that despite the literally 'freezing' conditions, the sun was still blaring brightly yet the ice wasn't even close to melting.

"Err Tommy? Think I hit a bit of a problem…" he called down into his morpher, hoping to get a reasonable explanation from his friend back at the Lair.

"I gathered…I'm watching you right now from the camera links", came the reply. "Y'know…it's probably gonna be the same old story…"

"What do you mean?"

"The whole 'spells-can-only-be-broken-when-monster-is-destroyed' trick?"

"Ah…great", Adam shot a wistful look back at the still-trapped Tori; "Looks like we've got a monster to destroy…"

"Whoa!" Adam rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being hit by several hundred pounds of Osirico's monster. He looked up to see the creature crash into a wall and then towards his teammates and their power-ups…

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" he let out a small laugh in triumph; "Check you guys out!"

"Not looking so bad yourself…", Xander pointed out; "You're all…" he waved his finger at Adam's suit trying to find the word.

"Shiny?" Kira offered.

"Yeah, 'shiny'".

"I thought you went to save Tori?" Kira pointed out.

"Yeah, good point, where is she?"

"We've gotta kick this guy back to the Stone Age before we can free her", Adam explained.

"No problemo!" the trio turned back to the subject of their conversation; "It's time to say goodbye!"

"Metallic Armor, Ranger Power!"

"Legend Warrior, Ranger Power!"

"Super Dino, Ranger Power!"

"Bring it!" the monster tensed up, ready for the fight.

"With pleasure!" Kira was first to attack as she swooped towards him, her wings outstretched, the Ptera Grips slicing through his armor like a hot knife through butter.

The monster howled in pain, clearly not liking the advantages of power-ups…

"Code one!", Xander flicked to a number on his Lion Staff and swung the weapon in a wide circle before him; "Rock slide!" he thrust the Staff towards the monster and a barrage of large and unfriendly boulders hurtled towards him, crashing down on their target. The monster yelled out as he finally crawled free of the rubble.

"Power Axe, full power!" Adam leapt over the shoulders of Xander, his weapon shimmering in the same fashion as his suit as it slammed into the creature's chest plate causing an instantaneous combustion process as the monster smoked and sparked before bursting into flames and rapidly turning into a pile of ash.

"I think…that just about got him", Adam commented sarcastically as he resheathed the Power Axe.

"Maybe just a little", Kira grinned back at him.

"It worked! It's melting", Adam shouted as soon as the giant ice cube came into sight and sure enough, he could see a glistening trail of water running steadily away from it.

"Allow me…", Xander strode forwards and swung his axe into the structure. A giant crack formed when then split into smaller fractures and then all of a sudden, the ice broke…

The large shards smashed into the ground and more water poured out, followed by Tori. "Gotcha!" Xander reached out and caught her before she fell, the Blue Ranger as cold as…well…ice. "Power down!" Xander reverted to his civilian form as he held on tight to Tori.

The Blue Ranger's eyes stared straight ahead, held open by the cold as she shivered uncontrollably, soaking wet through and barely able to stutter her thanks; "H-h-h-h-hi…g-g-guy-s…"

"You OK?" Xander asked as he hugged her tight in an attempt to warm her up.

"I-I-w-will-b-b-be".

"We'd better get back to Dr. O's", Kira pointed out as water still dripped from the Blue Ranger's clothing.

Xander looked at Tori as he summoned his Mystic Racer; "Fancy a ride back?"

That's it for Chapter 13, I'd love to know what everyone thinks of the story so far

And if I don't post again until after the 25th, then I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :D

Salut!