Author's Note: Hey guys, I want to apologize for taking a whole month to update. I got caught up writing another story and then I had a little trouble with my Netflix account. Now my other story is over, I can finish this one while planning the next in the series of my Teen Wolf series.
Dedications: Thank you to: Heartpunker123, DarkMoon010, SerketLily, Shades-Soul and CamaroDude1989 for adding this story to their favourites. I appreciate it a lot. :)
Rating: T for safety
I don't own Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. But I do own any original characters that are of my own creation.
Title: A Dire Situation
Summary: When Nuala Archer moved to Angel Grove to escape her past she never expected the chain of events that would soon follow. With the power of a morpher bestowed upon her, and the fate of the world hanging in the balance, a difficult choice must be made. One that might result in Nuala doing all that she can to keep her head above water.
"International Parents Day," Ciaran read out loud as he sat in the back seat of his mother's car. Beside him sat Ellis, while his mother and older sister were at the front. They had just pulled into the car park outside the Youth Centre where a party was being held for parents' day. "Isn't that the same as Mother's and Father's Day?"
"Somewhat," Nuala replied. "I asked Kim this yesterday, and she told me that Parents Day was about appreciating all parents in all parts of the world for their selfless commitment to children and their lifelong sacrifice towards nurturing this relationship."
"But that means you get two days to celebrate you," Ciaran said. "Three, if you count your birthday."
Nuala grinned and got out of the car. "You say that like it's a bad thing," she teased.
"Nuala, you're a great mother," Ciaran said, following her. "You don't need a day to tell you that. Same for you, Mum."
"Aw, you're sweet, Ci," Lana said, reaching into the back seat and unbuckling her grandson. She then sat him in his pushchair which Nuala had packed into the trunk. "What are you fishing for?"
Ciaran looked affronted. "Can't I pay my mother and sister a compliment without wanting something?" he asked.
"You were just complaining about not getting a day dedicated to you, other than your birthday," Nuala said. "So, like Mum said, what do you want?"
"Fine! How about a new pet?" Ciaran asked. "It's been nearly a month since we lost Chaos and Ceaser, can we at least think about getting a new animal? It doesn't necessarily have to be a dog, maybe a bird?"
"What kind of bird?" Lana asked, pushing the pushchair towards the Youth Centre.
"Maybe a Canary or a Finch?"
"If we do have another pet, I at least want something that I can cuddle with," Nuala said, shaking her head.
"What about a hamster?" Ciaran asked.
Nuala sighed and pushed open the door to the Youth Centre. Despite their close relationship, her brother didn't seem to understand the need Nuala had for wanting a dog, but she didn't want one so soon after losing Chaos and Ceaser. The fact that they had gone was still fresh in both her mind and heart was hard enough to let go of, but to welcome another dog into her life would've been harder still.
Ciaran frowned as his sister disappeared ahead of them. "What did I say?" he asked his mother.
"Nothing," Lana promised. "It's just harder for Nuala to accept that Chaos and Ceaser are gone."
"It hurts me too, Mum, but we can't live in grief our whole lives. I mean, we very nearly did when Dad died."
"I know, sweetheart," Lana replied. "But I think Nuala feels that losing Chaos and Ceaser is like losing your father all over again."
Ciaran sighed and nodded. He knew exactly what his mother was saying. Nuala believed that losing Chaos and Ceaser meant losing their father again because of the memory attachments, but what Nuala failed to see was they had many other attachments that would make them remember. They had their own memories of Chaos and Ceaser that were attached to their father as well. As long as they had their memories than nothing would've changed.
"She'll get better," Lana said, easing Ellis in through the still open door. "Before you know it, Nuala will be back to her normal self."
"I hope so," Ciaran said. "Because depressed Nuala kinda sucks."
Lana smiled and pushed Ellis around the corner, she stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed the state of the Youth Centre and the mass silence that filled the hall. "What the -?" she said.
"What's going on?" Ciaran asked, walking past Nuala and further into the hall. He stopped in the centre and turned around to face his mother and sister. There was a flash of white light and when it cleared, Ciaran was gone.
"CIARAN!" Nuala and Lana shouted. Nuala took a step further into the room, but her mother grabbed her arm and held her back.
"What's going on?"
Lana looked around to see the four of the other Rangers arriving. They looked out of breath and frazzled, like they had been fighting.
"Nuala, what's going on?" Zack asked.
"That's a good question," Nuala replied. "Where've you guys been?"
"Putty attack outside. What happened in here? Where'd our parents go?" Zack asked.
Nuala shook her head and looked back around at the empty hall. "It was this way when we got here," she said.
"How can a roomful of people just disappear into thin air?" Trini asked.
"I can think of a few possibilities," Zack said, "and I don't like any of them."
Spotting something on the ground, Kim run over to pick it up. She recognised it as her mother's scarf and immediately felt lost at the idea of her mother being abducted.
"What's happened to our parents?" Zack asked looking to Jason.
"Let's try and stay calm," Jason said, although he knew it was basically no use. Their parents were missing; they had a right to panic. "I'll contact Zordon. Zordon, something terrible has happened. Can you tell us what's going on?"
"Rangers, I'm aware of the situation," Zordon replied. "Teleport to the command centre immediately."
Nuala grabbed her mother and son and teleported away.
~*A Dire Situation*~
"Where are our parents, Zordon?" Jason asked the moment they arrived at the command centre.
"And Ciaran?" Nuala asked
"What's Rita up to now?" Kim asked.
"What can we do?" Zack asked, frantically.
"Rangers, you must calm down," Zordon assured them. "My sensors tell me that your parents and Ciaran are safe for now."
"What do you mean for now? For how long?" Kim asked worriedly.
"For the time being," Zordon said and Kim cupped her hands over her mouth. "That's all I can tell you at this moment."
As the Rangers received answers for their questions, Lana counted heads and frowned. "Um, question," she said. "Where's Billy?"
"I'm afraid Billy has fallen prey to the Dramole monster that Rita used to kidnap the other parents," Zordon explained. "While under the influence of the monster's noxious gas he came here, deactivated Alpha and stole the dragon dagger."
"I think I can reactivate Alpha," Trini said. She tinkered around with the wires on Alpha's back and the little robot sprung back to life.
"Oh, Trini, thank goodness," Alpha said, hugging the yellow Ranger.
"What exactly is a Dramole monster?" Lana asked.
"Observe the viewing globe," Zordon instructed.
The Rangers and Lana turned to the sphere behind them. It showed an image of a giant mole-like monster erupting somewhere out in Angel Grove.
"If he hurts Billy..." Nuala swore.
"Not to mention our parents," Zack added.
"And Ciaran," Lana said.
"Oh, I can't believe this is happening," Kim sighed.
"What is Rita up to, Zordon?" Jason asked, returning his attention to their mentor.
"Destruction using the Dragonzord," Zordon explained. "You must reclaim the Dragon dagger."
"And if we don't then there'll be no more Angel Grove," Jason sighed.
Lana put her hand on his shoulder. "You can't think like that," she said. "I've seen you lot in action numerous times before, and I know the distances you are prepared to go in order to succeed. Just remember what you're fighting for and you will win."
"She is right, Rangers," Zordon agreed.
"Where is Billy now?" Trini asked.
"Billy has taken the dragon dagger to Rita's dark dimension," Zordon explained. "You must find him and stop him, before it's too late."
"We will," Jason said, looking to the others. "Ready?"
"Ready!"
"It's morphin' time!"
"Mastodon!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Sabre-Toothed Tiger!"
"Dire Wolf!"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
~*A Dire Situation*~
Teleporting to the Dark Dimension, the Rangers arrived just in time to see Billy carrying the Dragon Dagger to Goldar.
"Billy, no, don't do it!" Jason called, causing his friend to stop and turn.
"It's no use, Red Ranger, he's under my control," Goldar laughed.
"Fight it, Billy," Nuala called. "Don't let Rita win."
"Fight the spell," Kim said.
"Fools! Putty patrol attack!" Goldar yelled, summoning the clay-headed foot soldiers. As they swarmed forward, Goldar knocked Billy aside his in his haste to get at Jason.
Billy shook his head and sat up. He wasn't completely aware of what he was doing, but somewhere in the back of his mind his friend's voices registered. With the others distracted by the putties, Goldar targeted Jason and Nuala, both of whom jumped backwards to avoid the slashing of his sword.
"Get to Billy," Jason advised Nuala, drawing Goldar's attention away from the silver Ranger. "Rita can't get that Dragon dagger."
"Right!" Nuala nodded. She ducked and rolled under Goldar and run across the room to Billy. She had almost reached him when Chris materialized behind the blue Ranger; he hauled Billy to his feet and laughed.
Chris laughed as he saw Nuala slide to a stop in front of him. "What are you going to do, Nuala?" he taunted. "You can't save yourself much less your new boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend, now let him go!" Nuala shouted.
"That just goes to prove that not even a pitiful geek wants you," Chris teased. "No one wants you. Why don't you just give up?"
"Because I am so much more than just someone's girlfriend," Nuala snapped. "You may think what you did to me made me weak, made me think that I wasn't worth anything. I'll admit that, for a while, I did believe all that, but my brother helped me see that I am worth so much more. I don't need you. The only good thing that came from us is my son."
"That little bastard doesn't deserve to live."
"He deserves life more than you!" Nuala shouted. It was the first time in forever that she'd ever found the courage to stand up to Chris, but she was done letting him walk all over her. He had made it to the point where he had realised that picking on her wasn't working anymore, but he could pick on her friends and hurt her. But not anymore.
Chris growled and threw Billy back onto the floor. "How dare you talk to me that you, you little bitch!" he snarled. He reached out to grab her, but was knocked away when Nuala jumped up and kicked him in the stomach. He stumbled backwards and doubled over.
"I'll talk to you in any way I wish," Nuala replied. "Your days of terrorizing me are over, Chris; I won't stand and let you hurt me again."
"You will," Chris said. "You'll see, Nuala, one day soon everything will go back to the way it was. You'll have no friends, no son; no family... all you will have is me." He turned back to Billy, snatched the Dragon Dagger out of the blue Ranger's hands and teleported out of the dimension.
"NO!" Nuala cried. But Chris was long gone.
The second the dragon dagger was out of his possession, Billy's mind became his own again. He looked around in confusion and then up at Nuala as she knelt beside him. "Nuala, what's happening?" he asked.
"It's not your fault, Billy," Nuala replied, helping him back to his feet. "You were under one of Rita's mind control spells."
"But what happened? How did we get here?"
"Rita was controlling you in order to get the dragon dagger," Nuala answered. "Chris just took it."
"What have I done?" Billy groaned.
Goldar laughed from the other end of the dimension. He hadn't left completely with the gold Ranger, and had stuck around to inform the Rangers of the trouble that was to come. "You've all fallen into my trap," he growled. "Now that we have control over the Dragonzord, you have no choice but to surrender your power coins in exchange for your parents."
"No way!" Jason shouted.
"You're crazy!" Zack said, adding insult to injury. "Why should we do what you say?"
"Because you really have no other alternative," Goldar said. "Behold," he held out his hand and an hour glass of sand appeared. "This will remind you of the time you have slipping away. Once the sand is through the glass, you must make your decision. Your power coins or your parents."
He laughed evilly and disappeared.
"Now what do we do?" Trini asked.
"Figure out a way to keep our power coins and save our parents," Jason replied. "Fast!"
"Right. But what about Billy?" Zack asked.
Nuala turned to stare at the black ranger through her visor. "What do you mean?" she asked. "The spells worn off now and we really need him."
"She's right," Kim agreed.
Jason nodded. "Come on, Billy, its morphin' time," he said.
"Right!" Billy said. He reached behind him for his power coin and morpher. "Triceratops!"
~*A Dire Situation*~
Teleporting back to the city, the Rangers arrived at the same location as Chris. The gold Ranger was standing on the peak of the city's highest building, the dragon dagger was at his lips and he was blowing into the flute. The water around the Harbour bubbled and the dragonzord burst forth.
"No!" Nuala cried, desperately. She had promised Tommy that she would look after the Dragonzord, and here she stood watching it trample the city.
Jason squeezed the silver Ranger's shoulder reassuringly. "We'll get it back, Nuala," he promised.
"You don't get it, Jase, I promised Tommy I'd keep the dragonzord safe," Nuala protested. "I promised I would keep it safe from Rita. I broke my promise."
"You didn't break it on purpose," Jason said. "Tommy will understand."
Still unconvinced Nuala quickly summoned her Dire Wolf Zord to take on the Dragonzord; the others followed in her wake but held back. The Dire Wolf and Dragonzord had a bond that only they could imagine having, not just with their own Zords, but with their Zord and someone else's. Tommy and entrusted Nuala with the Dragonzord for a reason; he could see the bond that she shared with her Dire Wolf, and new that his beloved dragon would be in good hands if Nuala took off his position.
"Dragon, stop it!" Nuala yelled, cutting off the dragonzord destruction. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Your mistake," Chris said. He blew into flute again and commanded the dragonzord to swing its tail around. The point of the tail smashed into the Dire Wolf, knocking it aside. The wolf whined and landed on its side near the edge of the Harbour.
"Rangers, power up your crystals!" Jason called to the others. With their Zords fully energized, the Rangers, save for Nuala formed the Megazord and landed in front of their fallen friend. They could understand Nuala's desire to stop the Dragonzord, but putting herself in harm's way wasn't going to do anything but destroy her.
While Nuala recovered from the initial attack, the power Megazord faced off against the Dragonzord. Nuala shook her head from inside her cockpit and forced her Zord to its feet; they watched the Dragonzord and the Megazord exchange several punches back and forth before deciding to intervene.
"Ice blast!" Nuala commanded. She punched the controls beside her and fired several ice bullets at the Dragonzord. She wanted to protect it as much as possible, but stopping it from hurting her friends was a much bigger priority. The Dragonzord roared and turned onto Nuala.
It was obvious that Chris was angry at Nuala. His main target had been her since he had stepped for in Angel Grove; he wanted to cause her pain, he wanted her to hurt, he wanted to hurt her. He blew into the flute again and the dragonzord thundered towards the Dire Wolf, forced up against the edge of the Harbour, Nuala felt her Zord vibrate as it growled.
The Dragonzord snarled and spun its tail around. It had every intention to hit the muzzle of Nuala's Zord, but before it could connect with its target, the power sword blocked it and pulled it away from the wolf.
Nuala sighed. "Thanks guys," she called over her comms link.
"Hang tight, Nuala," Kim said.
"Just don't hurt him," Nuala begged. "Please don't hurt him."
"We'll try not to," Jason promised.
With the power Megazord still holding onto its tail, the Dragonzord spun the tip and knocked the Megazord into a building. It crumpled under the pressure and Nuala was thankful that no one was inside. Unfortunately, her friends were so lucky and were ejected upon impact.
"Guys!" Nuala cried, ejecting from her Zord. She landed between Jason and Billy, and knelt down beside the two of them.
"You're time is up, Power Rangers," Chris said, walking down the embankment towards the team. He smirked and held the dragon dagger in his hands. It was so close that Nuala felt like she could get it from him, but she had a feeling that was what Chris wanted her to do; she wasn't about to play into his hands.
Pointing the Dragon Dagger into the air, Chris summoned the hour glass from the dark dimension and laughed as the sand run out. "The time has come for you to choose," he said. "Turn over your Power Coins or lose your parents forever."
"What now?" Trini asked.
"Try Zordon," Zack said, looking to Jason.
The red Ranger lifted his wrist to activate his communicator, but Nuala put her hand on his and pushed it back down. "There's nothing that Zordon can do for us now," she said.
"What do you mean?" Kim asked. "There has to be... a solution or suggestion. Something!"
"The only thing Zordon can tell us now is that whatever we choose to do has to be our own decision," Nuala said. "He can't make our minds up for us. This is personal... I have a feeling that's why Rita targeted your parents and my brother. They knew that we would do anything, including give up our coins to save them."
"How do you know that?" Trini asked.
Nuala sighed and looked back at Chris. "Because there is nothing more important than family," she said. "When I agreed to be a Power Ranger, I did it so that I could protect my mother, brother and son. I have always put my family above everything else and, believe it or not, Ciaran means more to me than my power coin."
"That's what we were hoping you'd say," Chris laughed. "I knew all along that you wouldn't stand back and let your brother take the fall for you; I knew that you'd give in in order to protect him. This just reinforces the idea that love is a weakness, and your compassion, Nuala, is your downfall. Now give me your power coin."
Jason caught Nuala's wrist as she took a step towards Chris. "Are you sure this is the only way?" he asked.
"If you have a different solution then I am open to suggestions," Nuala said. "All I know is that the longer we hold back, the more danger our parents and Ciaran could be in."
"I want to protect my parents," said Kim. "Not hurt them."
"Me too," Zack agreed.
"Yeah, and me," Trini nodded.
"Mhm," Billy said.
Jason swallowed and looked back at Chris. He had a bad feeling about this whole deal, but his parents did mean more to him than anything else on Earth. If he lost his parents then he didn't know what he would do. "OK," he said, giving in. "Our power coins for our parents and Ciaran."
Being the leader meant that Jason would be the first to step down. He let go of Nuala and walked over to Chris; he removed his power coin from his morpher and set it in the box that the dragon dagger had transformed into.
"Goodbye, Red Ranger," Chris laughed as Jason demorphed.
Kim sighed and followed Jason's lead. She removed her power coin and put it into the box, demorphing as soon as the coin slipped through her fingers. "If you harm my parents in any way," she warned Chris.
"No more pink Ranger to get in our way," Chris chuckled. He looked over at the other Rangers and beckoned Trini forward.
The yellow Ranger hesitated and glanced at her friends. Nuala and Jason nodded. They didn't like this any less than their friends, but it was the only solution they could think of.
"It's been great being Rangers," Trini said, holding up her power coin. "But our families are more important. We're doing the right thing," she placed her coin in the box and demorphed.
"Yes!" Chris chuckled as Zack approached him.
"Chris, you're going to pay for this," Zack swore, handing over his power coin and demorphing.
"Fool! Bring the next coin!" Chris said, setting his gaze on Billy and Nuala. The blue Ranger stepped forward, his power coin in hand.
"I'm sorry, guys," Billy apologized. "If it wasn't for me... well," he sighed and handed Chris his power coin.
Chris smirked and set his sights on Nuala. "One more and the Power Rangers will be history!" he laughed.
With an unsettling feeling in her stomach, Nuala placed her power coin in the box next to Billy's. She felt the power leaving her as she demorphed. "You have what you wanted," she told her ex-partner. "Now just give us what we want."
"You fools," Chris said, snapping the box shut. "I can't believe you fell for that!" He caught ahold of Nuala's wrist and pulled her towards him, securing his arm around her waist. The silver Ranger struggled against him, but he pulled her out of reach of the others; without the precious power coins there was nothing they could do to help their friend.
"What are you doing?" Nuala yelled, struggling for release. "We had a deal."
"You really think the power coins are what I wanted?" Chris asked. "Come now, Nuala, my main target since I got here has always been you. I just agreed to help Rita get rid of you pathetic Power Rangers, and in return she promised me you, now I have what I want. As for your friend's parents and that pitiful excuse for a brother of yours, did you seriously think that we would just hand them over? What for? The intention is to destroy the world, and now there is nothing standing in Rita's way."
He laughed again and disappeared.
"Nuala!"
"Billy!"
"No, wait!" Kim screamed. She tried to reach Nuala, but was held back by Trini and Zack. There was nothing they could now do for their friend. They had played right into Chris's hands and practically hand-delivered Nuala to him on a silver plate.
~*A Dire Situation*~
Rita laughed as Chris returned to the throne room. He knelt before her and presented her with the box of six power coins.
"Well done my prince of darkness," Rita commended the gold Ranger. "Well done. I see you've already taken your prize."
"She's locked away safe," Chris said. "I thank you for helping me obtain her."
"You played your part well," Rita said. "You got me what no one else managed to get me; you deserve your prize."
Chris grinned and stood up. She closed the box of power coins and handed it to Rita.
The evil empresses giggled mercilessly and handed the box to Goldar. "You know what to do," she ordered.
"Yes, my empresses," Goldar said, taking the box and leaving the room.
~*A Dire Situation*~
Lana couldn't believe it. She hadn't lost one but now both of her children to Rita. Ciaran had gone and got caught in the backlash of Rita's curse to abduct the Ranger's parents, and now Chris had kidnapped Nuala after tricking her. It had been a low blow on his part, playing on her compassion for her brother in order to get what he wanted. Lana knew that Chris played dirty, but she never once believed him to be capable of this.
"Alpha, teleport the Power Rangers to the command centre immediately," Zordon ordered.
Alpha nodded and complied with the request. Five bright colours filled the room and the rangers, save for Nuala appeared before Zordon and Lana. On the viewing globe behind the distraught mother was the image of the parents, Ciaran was amongst them, but they didn't look any different to what they had done before; they were still walking like mindless zombies in a circle.
"They all look so strange," Kim said.
"At least Zordon was able to locate them," Trini said to her friend.
"Yeah, but Nuala's not with them," Billy said. He had seen Ciaran, but not the silver Ranger.
"My sensors tell me that Nuala is nowhere near you parents," Zordon said. "Unfortunately, I am not able to locate her exact co-ordinates at this time. But do not worry, Rangers, Alpha, will continue searching."
"I can't believe we trusted Chris," Zack said. "He tricked us."
"He did all this so he could get Nuala alone and powerless," Billy said.
"There was no other way," Jason said. "Nuala knew the risks of handing over our power coins, she made the decision to save her brother and, believe it or not, it was the right choice. But like every choice we make there is a downside, this just happened to be it."
Lana sighed and forced herself to look at the Ranger's. "Jason's right," she said. "Nuala knew what she was doing when she convinced you to hand over your power coins," she said.
"All right, but what do we do now?" Kim asked. "Rita has all the power coins."
"Not all of them," Lana said again. "We still have one..."
"What do you mean?" Jason asked, as he and the others turned to their friends' mother.
"Nuala left this with me before you guys went to save Billy," Lana said, holding up her hand, she opened it to reveal the seventh and final power coin. "She said that she didn't want to risk it falling into the wrong hands. It is like she knew that you would need it."
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Chapter written by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx
Chapter updated Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at 3:17am
