SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS
Yob3: It is. Just keep reading. Everything is explained.
Jeremy Shane: Thanks, here's more.
Kellybird: Thank you. Here's more, hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
DISCLAIMER
Inspired by "Dragon's Path" by Crowned Tiger who has given me permission to run with the idea. Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own characters you don't recognize. Zordon's telepathic speak to his minions is in italics.
Jason struggled against the restraints when he saw Zordon's image.
"Let me go!" he shouted angrily. I have no idea where I am, but I know it's not the Command Center, he thought to himself.
"You had your chance, Jason. You and your friends could've ruled by my side. Now you'll just be eliminated," Zordon told him.
"We're not going to let you get away with this!" Jason exclaimed. Zordon laughed.
"But I already have. And not even Rita and Zedd can find you in this dimension," he taunted. Then, his image disappeared. Huh? Where'd he go? he wondered. This was not good. In their own dimension, Billy and Trini had each tried to break their cages, but to no avail.
"Billy, what are we going to do? I mean, we can't contact any of their others or teleport, we can't morph…Zordon's got us," Trini said, speaking in a low tone so that Alpha and Zordon couldn't hear her.
"I fear that I am at a loss as to how we can better our situation," Billy admitted in the same voice. What they didn't know, was that Rita and Zedd had seen their disappearances.
"Drat it! I can't believe I didn't see this coming!" Rita fumed as Finster immediately began a sector-by-sector search for them.
"Calm down, my dear. We'll rescue them," Zedd comforted. However, he was also concerned. He then, activated his own communications device as Rita contacted Tommy telepathically. On Earth, Zack and Kimberly heard the summons and answered it individually.
"What's up?" Zack asked.
"Report to the moon at once," Zedd told them. The two did so.
"What's going on?" Kimberly asked.
"Yeah, why did Mom contact me?" Tommy added.
"And where are Jason, Billy, and Trini?" Zack finished.
"Zordon has taken them. We're not sure where they were transported, but Finster's looking for them now," Rita answered.
"Zordon's not going to stop targeting us until he kills us, is he?" Kimberly asked.
"Hey, don't worry. We'll find them, and then we'll destroy Zordon," Tommy comforted, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"Oh, man. Why is he doing this? How did he get so power hungry?" Zack wondered.
"That is something we have often wondered ourselves," Rita admitted.
"He-he had been like a father to me," Kimberly whispered. I can't believe I was so stupid, she thought to herself.
"Oh, girl," Zack said sympathetically, reaching out to squeeze her hand. Ever since her parents divorce a few years ago, she had felt completely abandoned…especially when her dad had moved out of Angel Grove. Don't worry, Kim. I'll make him pay for hurting you like this, the Black Ranger promised silently. Meanwhile, Travox and Kressler were in Angel Grove, destroying buildings by slashing their swords at them as well as letting out energy blasts from the weapons. The two generals laughed diabolically. I'm so glad Emperor Zordon called. I needed something to destroy, Travox thought to himself. Suddenly, Goldar and Scorpina appeared. Goldar let out a roar as he lunged at Travox and Scorpina launched herself towards Kressler.
"Where are the Rangers?" she snapped. Kressler just laughed.
"You'll never find them. Emperor Zordon has them hidden away," he taunted. What they didn't know was that someone was doing a live report on the battle.
"This is Amy Kendall with Angel Grove Channel 9 News. Remarkably enough, the aliens who once destroyed the city are now protecting it in the Power Rangers' absence," the woman stated. Then, she went on with the report. On the moon, Kimberly, Zack, and Tommy watched anxiously.
"We have to help them," Kimberly stated as Goldar and Scorpina were knocked down.
"It's much too dangerous for you. Though we've severed your connection to Zordon, he may still be able to teleport you to a dimension of his choosing," Rita cautioned.
"That's a risk we'll have to take," Zack determined.
"Zack's right, Mother. We can't just leave them alone," Tommy agreed.
"All right, then. You three be careful," Rita warned. "And remember what we taught you about calling on your powers," she added.
"It's not the Powers or the Morphing Grid itself that's bad…just Zordon," Kimberly said, remembering what they had told her the first time she had refused to use the morpher.
"Now then, it's morphing time!" Zack called.
"Dragonzord!"
"Mastodon!"
"Pterodactyl!" As soon as they were morphed, the Green, Black, and Pink Rangers jumped into the battle.
"Traitors!" Travox snarled.
"Oh, wow! Now the Power Rangers are here, and they are helping their one time enemies to beat back this new threat," Amy reported. Then, Travox fired a bolt of energy in their direction. "Amy Kendall signing off!" the woman said hurriedly and she and her camera man fled the scene. The Pink Ranger faced Travox, an alien being that was of medium build, had a black body that was crisscrossed with yellow and silver lines. He leapt through the, brandishing his sword. The girl pulled out her Power Bow and fired. Travox cried out in pain and landed on the ground in a heap.
"Nice shot!" Scorpina complimented. Kressler, a tall alien being with a yellow and purple body, roared and tackled the Green Ranger. Then, it summoned electricity from its body and transferred it to the Green Ranger, who let out a groan, which segued into a cry of pain.
"Tommy, hang on!" the Black Ranger called and he quickly converted the Power Ax into Canon Mode and fired on the alien. Kressler screamed and rolled away. Goldar, Scorpina, and the Pink and Black Rangers quickly ran to the Green Ranger.
"Are you okay?" the Pink Ranger asked, as she and Scorpina helped him up.
"Yeah. It was just a bit of a jolt," the Green Ranger replied.
"What do you say we give 'em a jolt of our own?" the Black Ranger suggested.
"I'm game," Goldar agreed.
"Combine weapons!" the Black Ranger instructed. With that, the Dragon Dagger, the Power Ax, the Power Bow, Goldar's sword, and Scorpina's boomerang were placed on top of each other. Then, a single beam of energy flowed from the weapons and hit the two beings, knocking them back.
"We'll be back," Travox snarled, and he and Kressler disappeared and then rematerialized in the Command Center.
"You fools. You let them chase you away?" Zordon asked.
"Forgive us, our liege. The teenagers are stronger than they look," Travox groveled, as he and Kressler bowed on a knee.
"And given the fact that they still have their morphers-" Kressler's comment trailed off into a cry of pain as Alpha used the computers to deliver a shock wave to the two beings.
"I do not tolerate failure. You know this quite well," Zordon reminded them.
"Forgive us, Emperor," Kressler begged in a pain-filled voice. Finally, Alpha halted the assault.
"Get out of my sight. I will call for you when you're needed again," Zordon told them and they disappeared. In the white dimension, Billy and Trini glanced at each other. They had to get out of there before Zordon turned his wrath on them. But how? They had each tried the bars to no avail. Meanwhile, Goldar, Scorpina, and the Rangers had returned to the moon.
"Trigon, are you all right?" Rita checked anxiously.
"I'm fine, honest," Tommy assured.
"That was quick thinking on your part to combine your weapons, Zack," Zedd complimented.
"Thanks, but we still have to rescue Billy, Trini, and Jason," Zack commented. Meanwhile, Alpha had teleported Billy and Trini some food. They watched as the robot's image appeared in a hologram.
"Here's some food…not that you deserve it, traitors," he snapped and then the image disappeared. Well, at least they're feeding us, Trini thought. Though, maybe it wasn't such a good thing. There must be some way we can gain the upper hand and then engineer an evasion of Zordon's wrath, Billy thought. But Alpha would never let them out of their prison while they refused to work for him.
"Wait a minute. That's it," Billy said, barely containing his excitement.
"What's it?" Trini questioned. Had the Blue Ranger figured something out?
"We're escaping, just follow my lead," he whispered.
"Um, okay," she agreed.
"Zordon, Alpha, we realize the error of our transgression! We desire to help you!" Billy called, causing Trini to look at him in surprised alarm. What is he saying? she wondered. Then, she caught his look and understood. Of course, this way, hopefully, they'll release us and we can escape, she realized.
"Yes! Zordon, let us help you conquer Earth…Master," she added. She gasped as Zordon's image appeared.
"Are you two being sincere, young ones?" Zordon asked.
"Yes, Master," Billy and Trini chorused, kneeling on a knee and bowing their heads. Almost immediately, they were teleported to the Command Center. Before Alpha knew what was happening, the two Rangers had jumped up, grabbed him, pried open his back where his programming was, and yanked out the wires, ripping them from the robot's body. Then, they teleported themselves to the moon.
"Billy! Trini!" Kimberly cried relief.
"How'd you escape?" Zack wondered.
"We pretended to defect and when Alpha teleported us back to the Command Center, we ripped out his wiring and then teleported out," Trini answered.
"Good job. That should slow Zordon down a little," Tommy complimented.
"Yeah, but we still have to find Jason," Kimberly reminded them.
"Yeah," Trini, Zack, Billy, and Tommy sighed. In the Command Center, Zordon was fuming. TRAVOX! KRESSLER! GET IN HERE! he thundered. Almost immediately, the two reappeared.
"You called, Emperor?" Kressler asked.
"The Blue and Yellow Rangers have escaped," Zordon answered.
"What is your command?" Travox asked.
"I want one of you to go and lure them back out…destroy the whole city if you have to," Zordon stated.
"I'll go, my liege," Kressler volunteered.
"Do it," Zordon instructed and the being disappeared.
"What about Alpha?" Travox questioned, glancing at the downed robot.
"He let the humans get the drop on him. He deserved his fate," Zordon answered. "Get rid of him," he added. Travox went over to the consoles and pressed a button. Moments later, Alpha 5 disappeared in a burst of white particles.
"And what about the Red Ranger?" Travox asked.
"Make him pay for the other Rangers' escape," came the command.
"As you wish, Emperor," the being responded and then teleported itself to the room the Red Ranger had been placed in. Jason struggled against his bonds. Then, he tensed when he saw Travox and his fight increased.
"Yes, go ahead and fight. That'll make your punishment all the sweeter," Travox sneered, conjuring a whip. Jason's eyes widened when he saw the instrument. Seeing the reaction, Travox's lips curved into a terrible smirk.
"This frighten you, boy?" he sneered, and then cracked the whip in the air, causing the Red Ranger to jump and wince. No. No, please, he thought to himself. The whip cracked through the air as Travox stepped closer. Jason increased his fight to get free, only to have the bonds cut into wrists. The whip came down, hitting Jason on the chest with a resounding THWACK! Jason grunted at the impact. The strikes came again and again, each eliciting a groan or a grunt of pain from the Red Ranger. Travox's eyes flashed. So, he thinks he can hold out against me, does he? the creature thought. Well, he'd prove the human wrong. There was another SNAP! as the whip came down on Jason's chest again…harder than before. Jason's face twisted in pain. Travox continued his actions, making each strike harder than the last one until…the room rang out with Jason's screams.