Worlds, Times and Distances Apart
A Power Rangers Fanfiction
by Lauraac2110
Chapter 15: One Soak Back
Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 1, late morning, a few minutes later
The roaring noise grew louder and louder as the Original Rangers ran down the tunnel.
"We're never going to make it! Even if we use our communicators, we're not going to be able to teleport out of here in time now," Trini exclaimed.
At that moment, Tommy suddenly veered into a side tunnel as, at the same time, a Laser Pistol appeared in his hands. The other Original Rangers followed him and, as the roaring grew even louder, Tommy fired at the ceiling to seal them into the side tunnel. Once the ceiling had collapsed, the roaring noise grew so loud that they knew that the waves had caught up with them. Then, the roaring noise began to subside as the waves passed by. There were a few moments of coughing because of the dust which the collapse of the ceiling had caused before everyone powered down and looked at Tommy.
"We're trapped in here now. Why did you do it, Tommy?" Billy demanded as he looked around.
"It was the only thing which I could think of," Tommy replied defensively. "It saved our lives, didn't it?"
"Yes. However, we've got a bit of a problem," Billy replied. "We're trapped in here, we can't call for help as our communicators don't work under water..."
"We're under water?" Trini said as she blinked.
"Look up. We're fortunate that Tommy only took out the concrete ceiling, and not the glass tunnel as well, as we would be dead otherwise," Billy replied simply.
Everyone did look up to see that there was more water above them. Tommy grimaced.
"I didn't know," he replied as he turned away. "I didn't have any other alternative, though."
"We know that, Tommy," Kimberly assured. "Don't beat yourself up about this."
"At least we're alive," Zack smiled. There were a few moments of silence before Jason finally asked the key question.
"What are we going to do, though?" Jason said.
"We're going to have to wait for a rescue," Tommy replied simply. "It's the only thing that we can do as this tunnel is a dead end so following it would be pointless."
"We're not going to be able to hold out forever down here, Tommy. There's not a lot of oxygen down here to sustain us for much longer," Billy warned.
Tommy sighed. "Then, we can only hope that our rescue finds us before it is too late," he said as he sat down nearby.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, late morning, at that very moment
Warning... Warning... Warning...
"Report Cassidy!" Zordon demanded as all the other Rangers stared at the viewing screen in shock.
"I don't know what happened!" Cassidy replied as she turned to them. "However, I do know that we've lost contact with the Original Rangers."
"It can't be..." Kira began. RJ concentrated for a moment before he sighed in relief.
"They're not dead," Dominic said simply.
"You are sure?" Zordon asked.
RJ nodded. "If they were dead, we would know."
Kira looked at RJ in puzzlement as Fran, who was sitting on Dominic's shoulder, squeaked.
"Pai Zhua masters don't have to think, we know what must be done and when it must be done for," Dominic replied simply. "We know that the Original Rangers are still alive."
"Then, if they're alive, we've got to go rescue them. If we've lost contact with them, it means that they're trapped somewhere in Aqua Tunnel 1," Trent burst out.
RJ nodded. "Exactly," he agreed.
"Rangers, you must all put your full efforts into rescuing the Original Rangers. If they are still alive, they are not going to have a lot of time left," Zordon commanded.
"We will find them, Zordon," RJ assured. "I'm just worried about what they faced down there. If they couldn't easily dispose of it, it must have been dangerous."
"As long as you try not to attract its attention to your search, you should be fine down there," Zordon assured as he nodded to Cassidy. She turned back to the controls and activated the teleportation controls. "Good luck, Rangers."
Before any of the Power Rangers present could reply, they vanished in flashes of coloured light.
Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 1, late morning, a few minutes later
"Scatter!" RJ warned all of the Rangers just as they reappeared outside of Aqua Tunnel 1. Instantly, the Rangers obeyed his command and scattered away from tunnel just before powerful waves spewed out of the entrance.
"Wow, those were some waves," Kira noted.
"There's no way that they could have..." Flynn began as RJ took a deep breath.
"They're still alive," he repeated firmly.
"How can you know that? For all we know..." Scott demanded.
"They're alive," Dominic said firmly as Fran squeaked. "We know that they're alive as much as we know, although you've never said it aloud, that you're still unhappy about losing overall command of all Power Rangers here in Corinth."
Scott looked down and said nothing else.
"We know that they're alive as much as we know that Ziggy has a crush on Dr K. as well," RJ added with a grin. Ziggy blushed quite deeply.
"I do not," he lied firmly. However, everyone else could see through his lie instantly and Summer giggled.
"It's a trick only a Pai Zhua master is capable of," RJ replied simply. "As I've said before, we don't need to think. We know what must be done and when it must be done for."
Dominic grew grim.
"Dom?" RJ began.
"We're running out of time, RJ," he said simply. RJ sighed.
"We had better get started then," RJ said as he made his way into the tunnel. After a few moments, the other Rangers followed suit. They only hoped that they would find the Original Rangers before it was too late to save them.
Corinth City, Outside the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters, early afternoon
Cestria had just had enough. It was time for her to use her telekinetic powers to compel Amelia to take her to Mira Tricks. She knew that she was reaching the end of her patience with the Anti-Ranger protest group, as they were beginning to really anger her with all the reasons why they hated Rangers, so she had to get to Mira Tricks quickly and then get out of there.
Sure, Power Rangers weren't perfect but they at least tried their best to defend the people from evil. However, she did sympathise with the Anti-Ranger protest group a little. They were acting in fear of the evils which had recently begun to show up in Corinth and, to be honest, the Power Rangers hadn't really done anything to address those fears.
Take me to Mira Tricks. Cestria commanded as she overwhelmed Amelia's mind. Amelia blinked for a moment before she smiled.
"You know, I think that I might just be able to get you audience with Mira Tricks herself. Right this way, Cecilia," Amelia said with a smile.
Cestria sighed in relief as she followed Amelia through the crowd of Anti-Ranger protesters. At last, she was only a few moments from finding out about Mira Tricks's diabolical plots. She only hoped, though, that she would be able to keep her cool after she had found out about the plots. If she couldn't, her very life would be in the greatest of danger.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, early afternoon, also at that very moment
"Status!" Dr K. demanded.
"At last check, the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord was 75% complete," Anton Mercer called in reply. "We're currently..."
"At 85%, K.," Tenaya 15 finished.
"Keep up the good work," Dr K. said calmly. "We don't know when the Original Rangers are going to need their Zords so it would be best if we complete the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord as quickly as possible."
"Yes, K.," they replied with a sigh. One thing was for certain, all of the technicians, Anton Mercer and Tenaya 15 were going to be happy when the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord was complete. It would mean that they could finally, after their endless hard work, get some rest.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, early afternoon, also at that very moment
"This hasn't worked either," Alpha said with a sigh as yet another technique they had tried to free the disabled Megazords failed. He turned to Hayley where she worked at a nearby terminal. "I'm sorry, Hayley, but nothing seems to be able to free them."
"It's all right Alpha," Hayley reassured with a smile. "I'm sure that, eventually, we'll find some way of freeing the disabled Zords. We've just got to keep trying each technique one by one until we find the one which works."
Alpha nodded. "Should I run the next technique, then?" he asked. Hayley nodded.
"Yes," she replied. Although I'm not too confident that it'll work either. I just hope that we find the technique which frees these Megazords before it is too late. she thought silently to herself.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, early afternoon
I just hope that they are all right... Zordon thought silently to himself as he sat there.
"Zordon, we've managed to identify the third breach," Devin said grimly. "It's trouble."
"Why?" Zordon asked instantly in reply.
"It's the Hydro Hog, Zordon," Cassidy answered. "Dr O. has tagged its file with a personal note which says "Extremely disastrous if not dealt with quickly and effectively. Only to be dealt with by the most powerful and resourceful of Rangers by recommendation of the Aquitians."
Zordon turned pale. "Oh no..." he murmured. "No wonder we lost contact with the Original Rangers."
"Zordon, what do you want us to do?" Cassidy asked after a few moments of silence.
He sighed. "Monitor the Hydro Hog for now. When the Rangers have found the Original Rangers, we might be able to deal with it."
"As you command, Zordon," Devin replied as he and Cassidy turned back to work on the console. Zordon sighed yet again.
He only hoped that they found the Original Rangers before the Hydro Hog decided to reveal itself as Zordon knew that, although they were very experienced, the other Rangers wouldn't be able to battle it because it was just too powerful.
Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 1, early afternoon, at that very moment
As the Hydro Hog realised that it had absorbed enough water to grow bigger, it smiled.
Now. Corinth would be Lord Zedd's and, with the Original Rangers out of the way, there would be no one powerful enough to stop him.
Corinth City, in a different part of Aqua Tunnel 1, early afternoon, also at that very moment
As the ground shook uncontrollably, RJ and the other Rangers braced themselves against the wall as RJ's Wolf Morpher beeped. He barely managed to activate it because of the shaking and, as soon as he did, it took a few moments for Zordon's voice to reach them.
"Rangers... can you hear me?" Zordon asked.
"Yes, Zordon, we can hear you," RJ replied. "What's happening?"
"We have identified the third breach as the Hydro Hog. It is an extremely dangerous villain which feeds off water to become more powerful and, according to our readings, it has grown to massive proportions. Fortunately, though, it is bursting through into Corinth from underneath the lake, which is why the ground you are standing upon is shaking, so no one has been injured so far. However, that fact may change very quickly if we don't stop it," Zordon replied.
"We can't abandon the search for the Dr O. and the Original Rangers, though!" Kira exclaimed.
"You are going to have to abandon the search for now. Aqua Tunnel 1 has become increasingly unstable and, if you stay there whilst Hydro Hog is creating devastation, your lives could be at risk. Furthermore, if we do not do anything to stop Hydro Hog, we will be giving the Anti-Ranger protest group and Mira Tricks more ammunition to use against us," Zordon countered. "I am sorry but the Original Rangers are going to have to wait a bit longer."
Dominic sighed. "Zordon's right, guys. Hydro Hog is the bigger priority."
"How dangerous is it, Zordon?" Scott dared to ask.
"Unfortunately it is extremely dangerous, Rangers," Zordon replied. "It is more dangerous than Scorpina was so I warn you to be on your guard."
Dillon smiled. "I'm glad that I'm not fighting it."
Trent groaned. "That's right. It will just be me and you, Dominic, because we're the only ones with working Megazords right now."
"I know," Dominic replied. "We'll do our best, though."
"Cassidy and Devin are going to teleport you to the lakeside so you should prepare yourselves," Zordon warned. "The Rhino Steel Zord, and all the Zords which you require Trent, will be released immediately. Zordon out."
Then, before they could consider his words, they vanished in flashes of coloured light.
Corinth City, in a different part of Aqua Tunnel 1, early afternoon, also at that very moment
As the shaking began to subside, Tommy slowly got to his feet.
"That wasn't good," he grimaced.
"It had to have been the Hydro Hog, Tommy," Billy warned. "Which probably means that he has managed to absorb enough water to grow to a massive size."
"I know," Tommy replied. "It also means that our rescue will be busy trying to deal with the Hydro Hog so we're on our own now."
"What can we do, though?" Trini demanded in frustration. "We're trapped in here and the Hydro Hog is probably rampaging across Corinth City right now as we speak. We've got nothing to work with."
"We've got our brains, Trini," Jason replied as he reached into his pocket. "And our morphers. Which reminds me..."
He took out the Dragon Power Coin and handed it to Tommy. "This is yours," he finished.
Tommy grimly nodded. "Thanks, I had forgotten all about it."
"So what are we going to do?" Zack finally said after a few moments of utter silence.
"We're going to come up with a plan," Kimberly replied. "I've got sort of an idea..."
Everyone huddled close as she began to discuss her idea. They knew that their time was running out but they hoped that this idea of Kimberly's would be good enough to use before it became too late.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, early afternoon, also at that very moment
"Congratulations, the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord is 100% complete," Dr K. declared as the tired technicians stood back to admire their work. They cheered at this.
"All of you deserve a well earned break because of your hard work," Anton Mercer continued. "So, as far as we're concerned, no work on new Zords will take place until tomorrow. You may all go home to your families and friends but I must warn you not to mention that you've been working for the Rangers as it could make you a target of the Anti-Ranger campaign and we certainly don't want that."
The technicians cheered further and began to filter out of the Zord Construction Bay, chattering as they went, as Tenaya 15 and a tired Anton Mercer went to Dr K.
"Well, K., what now?" Anton asked.
"We go up to the main Command Centre to find out about what is going on. That's what," she replied as she left. Tenaya 15 and Anton Mercer sighed.
It looked like that they weren't going to get the break which they deserved after all.
Corinth City, Outside the Corinth Defence Force Headquarters, mid-afternoon
As Cestria laid eyes upon Mira Tricks, she instantly saw through the disguise to Miratrix.
"Miss Tricks," Amelia said politely. "I'd like to introduce you to Cecilia. She's got a bright and intelligent mind which I think that we can use in our campaign."
Mira Tricks smiled at Cestria but that smile, Cestria could tell, was forced. "It's nice to meet you," she said.
"It's nice to meet you too," Cestria replied as Mira Tricks began the "why you should hate Power Rangers speech".
However, Cestria was paying very little attention to that. Instead, she was paying a lot more attention to Mira Tricks's twisted mind. It had been easy for Cestria to infiltrate it undetected and, as soon as she got inside Mira Tricks's mind, she was horrified by what she found.
Mira Tricks had planted nine bombs in amongst the thirteen apartment blocks which were linked by a cross on a map of Corinth City. They were due to go off at five o'clock, little more than three hours from now, during the rush hour so that they would have the maximum amount of devastation. Cestria knew that many bombs would kill a great deal of innocent people and she was disgusted by the fact that Mira Tricks planned to pin it on the Rangers.
She also planned to prevent the Rangers from interfering by reconfiguring the shield remotely to prevent anyone from teleporting around Corinth at four and by swamping the Brachiozord Command Centre with a wing of the Anti-Ranger protest group to monitor their actions.
This entire plan made Cestria so sick and angry that she completely forgot all about her self-control.
Then, she forgot all about her dangerous surroundings as she blurted out, "You disgust me, Mira Tricks. What I can't understand is why? Why must you endanger so many innocent people in your personal vendetta against the Power Rangers? What have they done to deserve all this?"
Mira Tricks blinked and growled as the entire protest group fell silent and stared at Cestria.
"Now I know you. You're Cestria," Mira Tricks said. "The Rangers sent you to spy upon us."
"And I'm disgusted by what I've found, Mira Tricks. You're not what you appear to be to all these people and I can assure you that the Power Rangers will show them the truth soon enough," Cestria countered. "I've known the Rangers for a long time, as I'm married to one of them, and I can assure you that they're not evil. They're constantly defending Corinth from evils like you, Mira Tricks, because you like civilisations to crumble under your feet and not because they bring the evil to Corinth themselves."
There was another moment of silence and Cestria groaned softly as she realised just what she had done.
"She's related to the Rangers. Get her!" Mira Tricks yelled.
At that moment, several of the protesters dived towards Cestria and Cestria reacted by using her telekinetic powers to launch herself into a powerful leap over the mob protesters. When she landed some distance away from them, she got to her feet and ran.
"After her!" Mira Tricks yelled. "She'll lead us to the Rangers."
As the Anti-Ranger protest group gave pursuit, Cestria grimaced.
"Damn," she cursed as she ran. As she ran, she only hoped that she would get away from the Anti-Ranger protest group as she had to carry the knowledge which she had stolen from Mira Tricks's mind to them so that they could stop Mira Tricks's diabolical plots.
Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 1, mid-afternoon
"Do you think that it'll work?" Zack asked. Both Billy and Tommy shrugged.
"I don't see why it shouldn't. Our morphers are connected to our Zords so we should be able to call the Dinozords here if they're operational," Billy replied.
"And I'm sure that K. and her technicians have been able to complete the remaining Dinozords by now," Tommy replied. "We'll be able to do this."
"There's just one problem. How are we going to get the hangar doors open?" Kimberly asked.
"That's not a problem," Tommy assured. "The Original Zords, since the Dragonzord is summoned by my Dragon Dagger, are all programmed to, if it is necessary, emit a signal which will open the hangar doors automatically."
There was a few moments of silence.
"There's no point in waiting any longer," Jason finally said. "Everybody get their morphers out."
Everyone obeyed Jason's command instantly and pulled their Power Coins out of their pockets. Then, they got into a circle facing each other and held out their morphers between them. Another moment passed as they all looked at each other with apprehension.
"We can do this, guys," Tommy assured. "We can't afford to let the Hydro Hog destroy Corinth."
"We've got to do this, Tommy, otherwise we're going to be trapped down here forever," Kimberly corrected. "And everyone in Corinth is depending on us to defeat the Hydro Hog. As much as I hate to admit it, the other Rangers just aren't ready for a monster of Hydro Hog's type just yet."
This filled everyone with determination and, in response to their feelings, their Power Coins burst into life.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Dinozord hangar, mid-afternoon, at that very moment
As soon as the power from the Power Coins reached the three Dinozords, which were stored in the Dinozord hangar, they burst into life. Then, they began to emit an automatic signal to open the hangar door as they went into autopilot mode.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Zord Construction Bay, mid-afternoon, also at that very moment
As soon as the power from the Power Coins reached the other three Dinozords, which had been completed that day in the Zord Construction Bay, they burst into life. Then, they began to emit an automatic signal to open the bay door as they went into autopilot mode.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-afternoon, also at that very moment
"Zordon! The Dinozords have switched onto autopilot mode and are emitting automatic signals which are opening doors so that they can leave the Brachiozord. Do you wish me to jam the signal?" Cassidy asked as she turned to Zordon.
Zordon, who was a little surprised about this, just shook his head. "No," he replied simply.
"But Zordon..." Devin began.
"Trust me, just let them go," Zordon replied firmly.
"If you say so, Zordon," Cassidy replied with a sigh.
Corinth City, Corinth Lakeside, mid-afternoon, also at that very moment
After waiting for a few minutes at the side of the lake for their Zords, Trent and Dominic were relieved when their Zords finally burst through the city shields.
"At last," Dominic sighed in relief. "I was beginning to think that we had yet another problem to contend with."
"Good luck, Dom," RJ said.
"Here, RJ, take Fran. I don't want her getting involved in this battle," Dominic said as he calmly removed Fran from his shoulder and put her into RJ's hands. Fran began to protest at this but RJ shook his head.
"Fran, Dominic is right. I'm afraid that water and mice don't go together," RJ chuckled as his hands gently clasped around Fran. "Sorry..."
"Hey Dominic, come on!" Trent said as he leapt onto the back of his Dragozord. Dominic smiled, turned and rushed onto the back of his Rhino Steel Zord.
"We'll try our best," Trent promised before he leapt into the cockpit of his Dragozord. Then, it combined with the awaiting Stegozord to form the Dino Stegazord as Dominic summoned the Control Dagger.
"Rhino Steel Zord. Transform!" Dominic commanded. It transformed into its Warrior Mode and, after a moment of pause, they rushed into battle with the Hydro Hog.
"We always miss out on all the fun," Gemma complained.
"And all the Booms as well," Gem added.
"I'm not sad about missing this one," Dillon said with a shrug.
"To be honest, neither am I," Scott added. "Hydro Hog isn't like anything that we've ever faced before. It's extremely powerful."
"You doubt your abilities, Rangers, as Venjix was much stronger than the Hydro Hog," RJ murmured as an accidental communication link with the main Command Centre was formed. "It's just that Hydro Hog, if it isn't stopped, could kill us all by draining all the water from the planet."
"What?" Summer said as she turned pale. "It surely isn't..."
"RJ is right. The original Hydro Hog was known as the Emperor of the Dark Waters for this reason," Zordon said as revealed that he was listening into their conversation.
"You say the original does that mean..." Ziggy began.
"Yes, Ziggy, this is not the original Hydro Hog. It is an improved version created by Finster at Lord Zedd's command," Zordon replied.
RJ sighed as he looked up at the ongoing battle between Dominic, Trent and the Hydro Hog. It was clear that the Hydro Hog was winning as the Rhino Steel Zord in Warrior Mode and the Dino Stegazord were already badly damaged.
"We're going to need a miracle to beat this thing, Zordon," RJ warned. Zordon chuckled.
"Do not worry, RJ. I am pretty certain that one is just about to occur," he reassured just as the Dinozords appeared through the shields.
Corinth City, Aqua Tunnel 1, mid-afternoon, at that very moment
"Listen!" Billy exclaimed as his concentration was broken by the sound of the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord roaring.
"It worked!" Trini exclaimed as everyone except Jason relaxed and put their morphers back into their pockets. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"If you don't mind..." Jason murmured as he continued to concentrate. Beads of sweat were beginning to form on his forehead.
"Come on, Jason. You can do it..." Tommy urged. At that moment, the roar of the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord grew louder and louder as it began to head towards them.
"Brace yourselves," Billy warned as the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord was about to kick the glass tunnel to shatter it. Jason snapped out of his concentration at that moment as they gathered near to the hole but not near enough to be injured by the glass. As the glass shattered with the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord's kick, water flooded into the tunnel and, in the space of less than a second, it became submerged. Then, the Rangers reacted instantly by swimming out of the tunnel and up to the surface.
Corinth City, Corinth Lake, mid-afternoon, a few seconds later
As soon as the Original Rangers surfaced, they found themselves watching as the Rhino Steel Zord in Warrior Mode and the Dino Stegazord were thrown aside by Hydro Hog. Next, they watched as the Dino Stegazord split into the Dragozord and Stegazord on impact. Before, finally, they watched as the Rhino Steel Zord fail to get back up.
"I think that it's our turn," Tommy noted as he took a deep breath. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his Falcon Power Coin. "Tigerzord!" he called as he activated it.
Seconds later, he had morphed and, before the others could say anything, he swam across and climbed onto the back of his Tigerzord.
"Look, it's Dr O.!" Kira exclaimed from where she stood on the bank at the lakeside. Tommy turned to see the Rangers standing at the lakeside and smiled.
"Hey, guys, I'm sorry that we're late," he called back. "Unfortunately, we ended up trapped down in the Aqua Tunnel because of an emergency cave in."
"You? I destroyed you!" Hydro Hog roared.
"You tried," Tommy corrected. "Guys?"
"We're coming Tommy," Jason called in reply as the other Original Rangers morphed and climbed onto the backs of their Zords.
"We're going to need to use our Thunderzords, guys, as we won't be powerful enough to defeat Hydro Hog any other way," Billy yelled.
"Are you stupid? Being struck by lightning could kill us, Billy!" Trini yelled.
"The thunder receptors will draw the lightning into the Zords so we're not going to be in any danger. Watch," Billy replied. "Triceratops Unicorn Thunderzord Power!"
Seconds later, storm clouds gathered. There was an explosion of light and sound as a bolt of lightning struck the Triceratops Dinozord. When the light subsided, the Unicorn Thunderzord stood in place of the Triceratops Dinozord. Miraculously, Billy was still standing unharmed on his Zord's head.
"See, I wish that you would trust me for once!" he exclaimed.
Jason sighed. "Fine. Tyrannosaurus Red Dragon Thunderzord Power!"
"Pterodactyl Firebird Thunderzord Power!" Kimberly called.
"Sabertoothed Tiger Griffin Thunderzord Power!" Trini called after her.
Zack sighed. "I guess, as usual, that I'm last. Mastodon Lion Thunderzord Power!"
Another few seconds later, the remaining Thunderzords stood in place of the respective Dinozords and each of the Original Rangers stood on the heads of their Zords.
"Let's bring them together!" Jason called to the Original Rangers as he leapt into his Thunderzord cockpit. The other Original Rangers then followed suit.
As they began to activate the configurations for the Thunder Megazord, Tommy calmly inserted Saba into the correct slot and reached down to the crystal.
"Activate Warrior Mode," Tommy commanded simply. As the Tigerzord shifted into Warrior Mode, the Thunder Megazord was formed.
"You fools, what makes you think that you'll do any better?" Hydro Hog demanded.
"I was there when Delphine and the Alien Rangers first managed to destroy you, Hydro Hog," Tommy replied. "You may have had a few upgrades since then at Finster's hands but I know about all of your weaknesses."
"He's mostly water so we're going to need to use lightning based attacks if we want to destroy him," Billy added.
"It'll be risky but we've got to try it," Jason warned. "Tommy?"
"We'll strike him at the same time. Get ready," Tommy replied as he avoided one of Hydro Hog's energy blasts. At the same time, the Thunder Megazord avoided another as it drew its sword.
"Billy, how are we going to use a lightning finishing move when the sword only uses fire?" Trini demanded as she turned from where she sat in the cockpit to him.
"I added a modification into the thunder receptors," Tommy replied as Hydro Hog attacked the Tigerzord in Warrior Mode. Tommy blocked this attack and threw Hydro Hog backwards into the water. "It should be able to channel what lightning power remains into the sword but the Thunderzords will become the Dinozords again straight after so, if you miss, we're going to have a problem."
"We've got one chance. We had better use it," Jason said grimly as the Hydro Hog got back up onto its feet. "Now!"
"White Tiger Thunderbolt!" Tommy called as he struck Hydro Hog with a bolt of white lightning which caused a small explosion. At the same time, the Thunder Megazord held its sword ready and, as Hydro Hog reeled away from the Tigerzord in Warrior Mode, the sword became electrified. Then, the Thunder Megazord struck.
"It's over, Hydro Hog," Jason declared as the sword struck the Hydro Hog which squealed as electricity flowed into it from the attack.
"Back! He's about to explode!" Tommy yelled as the Thunder Megazord became the Original Megazord at that moment. Then, at the same time, both the Original Megazord and the Tigerzord in Warrior Mode leapt back as the Hydro Hog exploded. The explosion sent the entire contents of the lake spewing outwards and all of the Rangers who were standing on the bank got completely soaked.
"This is just great," Ziggy complained as he threw a fish off his head back into what little water actually remained in the lake. "The Anti-Ranger protest group are surely going to use this against us now."
Corinth City, Corinth Lakeside, mid-afternoon, a few minutes later
A few minutes later, Tommy leapt out of the nearby Tigerzord as it returned to normal and began to make its way back to the Brachiozord. However, along the way, it picked up the badly damaged Dragozord. When he landed on the bank, he laughed helplessly about the fact that everyone was soaking wet as he powered down. Even now, though, Tommy was still completely soaked to the skin anyway so everyone else laughed at him.
"What's so funny?" Jason asked as he and the other Rangers left the Original Megazord as it split apart. On its way back, the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord retrieved the Stegozord and the Rhino Steel Zord as Dominic and Trent, also both soaking wet, came running down the bank. Jason and the other Rangers couldn't help but laugh at this as well.
"Hey! You're as wet as I am," Dominic protested as the Original Rangers powered down. At that moment, Fran, who looked drenched, began to shiver and squeak at the same time. RJ smiled as he pulled out a warm cloth from his pocket, which was the only thing that wasn't wet, and wrapped it around her to keep her warm as he transferred her to Dominic's shoulder.
"Man, I'm just glad that we managed to get out of that tunnel in time to stop Hydro Hog. The damage could have been much, much worse if we hadn't," Tommy sighed.
"What happened to you guys anyway?" Summer asked as she moved her wet hair to one side.
"I managed to cause a cave in to protect us from Hydro Hog's powerful waves," Tommy replied. "Fortunately, we managed to get trapped in the side tunnel and we summoned our Zords to break us out of there when we realised that you would be slightly busy with Hydro Hog."
"We're..." RJ began before he was interrupted by a bang as Zedd appeared in a flash of green light before the Rangers with Squatt and Baboo, as witnesses, at his side.
"Rangers! Yet again you've managed to disrupt my plots despite the fact that the odds were stacked against you," he roared as his Z-Staff began to glow. Tommy instantly quietly summoned his Brachio Morpher and took out the key. Then, he inserted the key in his morpher as Zedd continued with, "This time, though, I'm not going to let you get away with this. I will have my revenge."
At that moment, an arc of green lightning shot at the Rangers but Tommy instantly turned the key in his Brachio Morpher.
"Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!" he called as he morphed into the Black Dino Ranger. Then, he quickly drew his Brachio Staff and dismissed the arc of green lightning to one side.
"You're going to have to get through me first, Zedd," Tommy warned. "As long as I live, I won't let that happen."
"Squatt, Baboo, deal with him," Zedd commanded. Squatt and Baboo shook their heads violently.
"Are you too cowardly to do it yourself, Zedd?" Tommy demanded. Zedd growled as his Z-Staff began to glow.
"Of course not," Zedd countered as he advanced on Tommy. Slowly, Tommy moved to meet him so that the other Rangers wouldn't be in any danger.
"Tommy, don't!" Jason warned. "Zedd's just too powerful for you to take on alone."
Tommy, however, didn't listen. Instead, as Zedd lunged towards him, Tommy met Zedd head on. They fought back and forth, back and forth, with neither of them having any clear advantage and, each time that the Brachio Staff clashed with Zedd's Z-Staff, sparks flew.
"Give up, Tommy Oliver," Zedd growled as they became locked together in a physical struggle. "You know that you will never be able to best me."
"Never!" Tommy replied defiantly as he struggled to hold back Zedd. "I won't let you harm them. Rangers, get out of here!"
"No, Tommy, don't!" Kimberly exclaimed. Her cry instantly broke through Tommy's concentration and Zedd managed to overpower him whilst he was distracted.
At that moment, as Tommy stumbled back from Zedd, he began to feel his teeth ache. Then, in a brilliant flash of white light, Zordon's staff appeared, floating in the air before Tommy, as Zedd growled. At that moment, a gentle breeze swept through the lakeside and, carried upon it, Tommy was sure that he heard Zordon's voice.
Take up my staff, Tommy. I'm going to send Zedd back to the moon where he belongs but I'm going to need to work through you to do it. Zordon instructed.
Hesitantly, Tommy reached forward and grasped Zordon's staff as, at the same time, Zedd growled.
"You're alive! But..." Zedd said directly to Zordon.
"I was lucky, Zedd," Tommy found himself replying as the staff began to glow. "It is time for you to go back to the moon where you belong."
"You can't match my power, not even through another, and you know it!" Zedd exclaimed as an arc of green lightning burst forth from his Z-Staff. At the same time, a beam of white light shot forth from Zordon's staff. They met in the middle and there was a colossal bang. For a few moments, Zedd and Zordon battled mentally before Tommy could sense that Zordon was beginning to tire.
Come on, Zordon... Tommy thought. You've got to beat Zedd.
"You won't win, old fool!" Zedd hissed as he increased the strength of his magic. This pushed the white light back towards Tommy and Zordon's staff.
"That is what you think," Tommy countered. Then, at that moment, Tommy found himself adding in. "I am much stronger than you, Zedd."
"You're old, Zordon," he countered. "And I can see it in Tommy's eyes that your strength has begun to fail you."
"No..." Tommy began as he felt Zordon begin to weaken even further as the white light continued to be pushed back towards Tommy. "I won't let you win, Zedd."
At that moment, a renewed final powerful beam of white light burst forth from Zordon's staff and completely overcame Zedd's lightning. As soon as it struck Zedd, it imprisoned him into a small portable space dumpster in a flash of white light.
"Lord Zedd!" Baboo panicked instantly as Tommy turned to them.
"Take your master back to the moon where he belongs," Tommy found himself snapping at them. "And make sure that he knows that I will not be so lenient next time we meet."
Squatt and Baboo nodded as they grabbed the small space dumpster and vanished in a flash of green light. At that moment, Zordon's staff vanished as Tommy wearily fell directly to his knees and powered down.
Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, mid-afternoon, at that very moment
As soon as Zordon's staff reappeared in the main Command Centre, Zordon groaned and collapsed instantly into unconsciousness upon the floor.
"Zordon!" Cassidy exclaimed as she spun around to him.
Corinth City, Corinth Lakeside, mid-afternoon
"Tommy!" Jason said as he and RJ rushed over to help him to his feet. "Are you all right?"
"Thanks to Zordon, I'm fine," Tommy replied wearily. "It just took a lot out of me."
"What just actually happened there?" Kira asked.
Tommy smiled. "Zordon intervened when Zedd managed to overwhelm me," he replied simply. "Somehow, Zordon managed to find the strength to seal him away in a space dumpster so we shouldn't have bother from Zedd for a while."
"Why did he go through you? Why couldn't he have just came here in person to deal with this?" Trini said. "Zordon has completely drained you."
RJ sighed. "Zordon doesn't want Zedd to see how old and frail he really is now."
"And he probably doesn't want to leave himself vulnerable to being sealed away in an energy tube either," Billy added in. "I'm worried about Zordon, guys. If Tommy was exhausted by what Zordon did, I'm sure that he'll be much worse. We should..."
"Rangers! Thank goodness..." Cestria said as she ran onto the scene, completely out of breath, and skidded to a halt before them.
"Cestria, what's wrong?" Kimberly asked instantly.
"I found out about what the Anti-Ranger protest group plans but they found out about who I am. We've got to get out of here before they catch up with me," she replied.
Tommy instantly activated his communicator.
"Cassidy, Devin, get us out of here," Tommy called.
"I'll try to, Dr O.," Devin replied. "Cassidy is trying to tend to Zordon. He just collapsed a minute ago and she's worried for him."
Tommy grimaced as Devin continued. "Prepare for teleportation," he warned just as the shouts of the Anti-Ranger protest group began to reach their ears.
"Any time in the next few seconds would be great, Devin," Ziggy said as the shouts of the Anti-Ranger protest group grew louder and closer.
Seconds later, just before the Anti-Ranger protest group reached the lakeside, the Rangers and Cestria vanished in flashes of coloured light.
Outside Brachiozord Command Centre, Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1, mid-afternoon
As the computer terminal began to beep, Hayley looked up to see that the technique which they had used had just broken through and restored the Zords. Both the RPM Zords and the Spirit Zords vanish instantly whilst, at the same time, the Thundersaurus Megazord split into the respective Biozords.
Alpha hastily sent them back to the Dino Thunder Zord hangar as Hayley jumped up and let out a cry of excitement.
"We did it, Alpha!" she said. Alpha nodded.
"Ai, Ai, Ai, Zordon is going to be so pleased with us!" Alpha said. "We had better go tell him!"
With that, Alpha and Hayley ran out of the Emergency Megazord Repair Bay 1 and began to head up towards the main Command Centre.
The Moon, Zedd and Rita's palace, mid-afternoon, at that very moment
As Finster released Zedd from the space dumpster, Squatt and Baboo were instantly struck with green lightning from within the dumpster. They yelped as Zedd leapt out of the dumpster and Finster turned pale when he saw how angry Zedd was.
"You worthless imbeciles!" Zedd roared at Squatt and Baboo. "How dare you stand by and do nothing whilst I get beaten by an old foolish sage who used Tommy Oliver as his vessel! You should have done something devious to disrupt the sage so that I could've won! Get out of my sight!"
Squatt and Baboo fled instantly as Zedd turned his attention to Finster. "Finster!" he snapped.
"Yes... your evilness..." Finster stuttered in reply.
"Go make me an even more powerful monster!" Zedd commanded. Finster nodded.
"At once," he stuttered in reply again as he fled.
After a few moments alone, Zedd growled. "One day, I'll finally manage to destroy the Power Rangers," he vowed to himself.
Corinth City, Corinth Lakeside, mid-afternoon, also at that very moment
As Mira Tricks stood giving instructions to the various members of the Anti-Ranger protest group, she was secretly extremely angry.
How dare they send a spy to find out about what I'm up to? Fortunately, as far as I can tell, she was only bluffing when she said that she had found out about my plans as no one seems to have told her anything. Still... She thought silently for a moment. Then, she shook herself. No, she can't have found anything out. I'm just going to stick to the original plan. When, five o'clock comes...
Corinth City, in the basement of one of the thirteen apartment blocks, mid-afternoon, also at that exact moment
Two Thirty... Two Thirty-One... Two Thirty-Two...
As the clock on the device hidden amongst the rubbish bins grew ever closer to five, the Rangers had no idea at that moment that their time was running out.