Author's Notes: So, my plans for a summer of Ninja Quest were a bit optimistic. If it makes you feel any better, it's still 100 degree weather where I live, so it will be summer for a while.

Reviewer thanks: Ghostwriter, Brankel1, Rekka09 (Alpha has always been a badass lol), Richardc267, dan (Yeah, someone pointed out that I didn't really do enough with the Zords, since I started writing lots of Zord-less stories, and… guilty. Honestly, I'm going to write Zords fights when I feel it adds to the story, but otherwise just imagine all the permutations of Zords happening in between stories lol), ranger who (Thank you so much! If you sign in, I can answer your questions through PM, but I'll take a stab here. I really love both the movie and the comics, but I'm not really interested in incorporating elements, as I sort of plotted out the story long before those existed. I also didn't care for the movie's take on the Zeo Crystal: I found the show's take on it much more interesting. I'm not planning on using any of the other Saban heroes besides Masked Rider since they either have no connection to PR, or, in the case of TMNT, a very weak connection to PR. As for Dulcea… you'll have to see.), greenrangerV, KLR1 (When I was considering dropping this plot-line, the spell reversal scene was the reason I didn't. It makes me laugh even now. I also loved the idea of the two getting disqualified, so that Bulk was the only viable candidate, and he didn't really want it.), and WolfThor51.


Book 8: Quest for Power

Chapter 28: Spark of Hope

The throne room was flashing a deep red, almost purple. Lord Zedd and Empress Rita Repulsa stood in the center, staring at the blank air that had up until then been projecting first Zordon, and then his hapless robot.

"Did a mere mechanoid…" Lord Zedd said slowly, "just repulse us with the flick of a switch?"

"We had him." Rita's voice was breathless with shock. "Zordon was ready to surrender, and that… thing… thinks he can stand in our way?!"

The two monarchs launched themselves to the balcony, Rita to her telescope and Zedd merely to the rail so he could get a clear view of Earth. "Those two fools are unconscious: they've let the Rangers get away," Zedd confirmed.

"I can't find the Rangers anywhere," Rita barked. "They must have been teleported to one of their secure locations."

Zedd slammed his fist against the railing. "The entire Earth is a secure location. That little robot has managed to establish a force field around the planet. Nothing can teleport in or out. We can't even teleport back Goldar and your deadbeat brother!"

The readings on her telescope confirmed as much, Rita noted. They had normal surveillance, but not even their strongest spells could penetrate the protective field, which was most concentrated directly around Angel Grove.

"When I get my hands on their pitiful Command Center," Lord Zedd said furiously, "that annoying android will be the first to go! I will rip him limb from limb, but only after I cast a spell on him to make him feel pain…"

Rita took a breath, forcing herself to calm down. "Yes, we all want to torture that little shit of a robot, but think, dear husband. They no longer have fighters or Zords, the Morphing Grid is weakened, and they must be burning through the last of their reserve power to keep us off Earth. They're desperate, and we're patient. All we have to do is wait them out."

Zedd ground his claws against the rail in his frustration. "You may be right. However, I can see at least five scenarios in which they may foil us yet. We've lost our element of surprise, and now we have no choice but to allow them to regroup. That has never worked out well for us."


"Alpha, I've got them. They can teleport to the Command Center once you give the okay."

The Power Rangers slowly got to their feet. The stress of losing their powers, feeling the shockwaves of their exploding Zords, and then suddenly teleporting had been too much, and they'd arrived semi-conscious.

"We're in my living room," Billy confirmed weakly, bracing against the sofa to pull himself up.

Sylvia, who had been speaking into the communicator next to the door, turned and pushed Billy down on the couch, and he bonelessly collapsed into it. "Rest now," she ordered all of them. "You can't do anything yet. I'll get you all water. You look like you've been through a fire."

The rest of the Rangers slouched dazedly on the sofa and chairs. Tommy slumped right to the floor, and he looked like he never wanted to get back up again. They could hear the water running in the kitchen. No one spoke. There seemed to be nothing to say.

Aisha was the first to break the silence. "We should be dead," she said shakily, hugging her arms to her. "I mean, I thought we were dead."

"We're not, though," Rocky pointed out lamely. "Zordon got us out of it. Didn't you guys say he's always got some kind of backup plan?"

"Usually," Kimberly said, "though I'll admit I was starting to doubt if he'd pull through this time."

Sylvia returned with glasses of water and utility towels from Billy's lab. "You all can wash up more thoroughly after you've caught your breath." She set down her tray and perched on the entertainment center, watching them gulp down their glasses of water while coughing intermittently. "Are any of you up to telling me what happened?" she said in a small voice.

They all looked away, the shock of their recent experiences making it hard to speak.

"We lost our powers," Billy finally said. "Our Zords are gone… we can't morph… we're powerless."

Sylvia paled, gripping the edge of the wood paneled shelf. This dislodged a stack of video tapes, and they clattered to the ground. No one moved to pick them up.

In that moment, Sylvia didn't just look like a concerned parent, trying to take care of her sons and their friends. She looked lost and scared, like she'd been told that the only thing keeping her safe had been taken away. That, more than anything, told the Rangers how dire the situation was.

"So, what are Zordon's orders?" Tommy asked, hoping that focusing on a plan, no matter how flimsy it was, would give everyone hope. Or at least something to focus on to keep them from falling apart.

Sylvia seemed to jolt out of a reverie. "Alpha's orders, actually. You're going to stay here until it's safe to teleport you to the Command Center. He's making the arrangements now: he just has to secure the force field around the Earth before that happens."

"Wait, Alpha?" Kimberly asked, bewildered. "Force field? What's going on?"

Before Sylvia could answer, there was a knock at the door. Sylvia motioned to the Rangers to remain silent and checked the camera. She breathed a sigh of relief, keyed in a password, and opened the door.

Kimberly's mother blew in and immediately launched herself at Kimberly. "Oh, I'm so glad you're all right," she said, her voice shaky.

Kimberly clung to her mother, but then pushed back after a few silent minutes. "Mom, I'm…" She was about to say she was okay, but she couldn't get the words out.

"Have you gotten the reports in, Judy?" Sylvia asked.

Judy Harris forced herself to detach herself from Kimberly. "The Taylors and the Kwans have reported in," she said. "I haven't heard from the Scotts yet, and Aaron Park is apparently on his way home, so he'll activate his systems in about ten minutes." She looked at the Rangers worriedly, noting the soot that the utility towels couldn't scrub off. "Frank's still at the house to coordinate. I just had to see if they were okay."

"Wait… Hold on, what?" Adam spoke for the first time since they'd gotten to Billy's house. His head had snapped up at the mention of his brother's name. "What systems? What does my brother have to do with any of this?"

Sylvia sighed. "We're working with Alpha. He set up a secondary security system for the Earth months ago for just such an eventuality as this."

"All the families are in on it," Judy said, "as you probably heard. If the Command Center is compromised, this house is the emergency Command Center. And if you kids lose your powers…" She stopped, choking a bit. "Oh, god."

Tommy intervened before they all went in shock again. If the situation was so dire that their parents were saving them, they didn't really have any time to spare. "So why didn't we… of course." He smiled bitterly. "Zordon wouldn't have liked it."

"No, Zordon never wanted the families involved," Sylvia said. "And if Alpha has activated this security system, he's overridden Zordon entirely. That means things are really bad. As soon as Alpha says its safe, you kids are going up to the Command Center to try to sort things out."

At that, Billy shot to his feet, teetered a bit, and then walked purposefully to his bedroom, the door shutting with a muffled slam.

The Rangers shot each other worried looks, but didn't get up. Whatever made Billy leave the room was what everyone was feeling, and confronting that was far more than they could handle.

Sylvia, however, had no such hesitation. She followed him, and after a soft knock and a few muffled words, the room plunged into silence once more.

"So, this plan. From Alpha," Aisha said. "What is it?"

Judy hesitated, but then pressed a few buttons on the security pad near the door. The lights dimmed, and a projection of Earth floated in the middle of the living room. Tommy looked from the projection to Kimberly's mother, who was grimly looking on. He had no idea that was there, and he'd been living there for months. Had Billy installed it?

"This is called Operation Beta," Judy said. "I don't know if it was because he was missing us, or if he was worried if something like this would happen and Zordon wouldn't be prepared, but Alpha has been in contact with us for months. First it was just as a secondary surveillance system. We all had communicators, and even the kids had buzzers they could use if they noticed anything suspicious. Then… the operation became bigger."

Tommy circled the projection, being careful not to disrupt it. "It looks like what you've done is to set up force field generators at strategic points around the globe. How did you manage it all without us or Zordon catching on?"

"Zordon hasn't exactly been around that much, as he?" Rocky commented. "Woulda been easy. Say, when you say parents…"

"Not yours, Rocky," Judy said. "And not Aisha's. We did ask your brother to help once he was inducted into our little club, Adam. And, as you said, we all teleported and placed each generator while you and Zordon were distracted, and when Alpha could tell that the Moon Palace had a low probability of catching us at it. The day after an attack was usually the safest bet."

She pressed a button, and the lights came back on as the projection flickered away. "From what Alpha said, though, we have a problem. Right now, the force field is holding, and it's keeping anyone from the Moon Palace from teleporting in or out. It will also highly limit them creating any monsters. However, it also means no one can teleport off Earth, and Alpha said he wasn't able to clear the Earth of all of Zedd and Rita's monsters before this all happened."

Kimberly let out a breath. "Meaning Goldar and Rito are stuck in Angel Grove. Oh, joy."

"Well, we can't just let them go free," Adam said. "They might hurt someone. A lot of someones."

He was halfway to the door when Tommy held him back. "Stand down. We won't accomplish anything going out half-cocked."

Rocky had almost made it to the door, but Mrs. Harris stood in his way. He turned back and glared at Tommy. "Am I hearing this right? You're gonna let a couple of monsters have their run of Angel Grove and, what? Sit around your living room, waiting for orders?"

"How are you going to fight Goldar and Rito?" Tommy said, an edge creeping into his voice. "I know you've fought Goldar unmorphed. Care for another round?"

"So we hide?" Rocky said. "And hope that someone else can save our butts?"

"Yes!" Tommy said, and his voice had taken a ragged quality.

Everyone stared at him, shocked at the outburst.

Tommy seemed to be trying not to cry. "We. Have. No. Powers. We're not the Power Rangers right now, and we would have died if Alpha hadn't teleported us out. And if we're ever going to be the Power Rangers again, we need to stay alive. That means waiting and hoping someone or something will save us so we can save everyone else. Is that okay by you? Or if you feel like running off and getting yourself killed… Well, we've replaced the Red Ranger before."

Rocky looked outraged and shocked.

"Sorry," Tommy said. "That was out of line."

"Yes, it was," Rocky agreed, pointedly not accepting the apology.

Any further argument was curtailed by the crackle of a speaker. "Rangers, it is now safe to teleport," Alpha's voiced called through the security panel at the door. "Are you all ready?"

"Not yet," Tommy said, moving carefully past Rocky to the panel. "Alpha, Rito Revolto and Goldar are still on Earth. Can we teleport them away? Or confine them?"

"Oh, ay-yi-yi, Tommy, we can't. The force field is using the energy of the Earth itself, but the Morphing Grid must maintain the force field, so we can't risk spending that energy. We only have enough power to teleport all of you a few times. Right now, Goldar and Rito are unconscious, but they won't remain so for long. They won't be able to teleport or grow in size, but they can still cause damage."

"Maybe Billy has something in his lab?" Kimberly suggested.

"Nothing powerful enough to affect either of them," Alpha said. "Most of what he has would need your power coins or access to the Morphing Grid, and that's…" He trailed off. "I'm sorry, Rangers. Contact me when you're ready to teleport up. I need to make sure the force field is holding up."

The static cut, and the Rangers looked at each other helplessly. Rocky's ire had died down after hearing Tommy try to solve their problem, but that still didn't improve their situation.

"I think we're overlooking something," Aisha said. "Just because people don't have powers doesn't mean they're helpless."

Kimberly eyed her friend wearily. "I know we're all good at fighting, but I don't think any of us could go half a round with either of them. We all know Goldar is tough, and Rita's brother apparently feels no pain and can fight forever… or at least until he gets bored. I looked him up when we met him in space," she said to questioning looks from the others.

"I'm not talking about fighting," Aisha said. "I'm talking about mobilizing the people of Angel Grove to protect themselves and each other. All it'll take is a few phone calls."

"You're talking about the thing you have going with the student council?" Kimberly asked.

Aisha grinned as she headed to the phone in the kitchen. "Aren't you glad you're not class president now?"


Skull was lying on his back on a skateboard. He was trying to get a better perspective on the motorcycle he was attempting to put back together, but it wasn't doing any good. It was still just as confusing, only now upside down.

The door swung open violently, way too close to Skull's head. He sat up, which unbalanced the skateboard and made it slip out from under him. He landed back on the ground.

"What have I told you about lying on the floor?" Bulk said, shooting him a withering look.

Skull shrugged. "Nothing?"

Bulk opened his mouth, paused, and then shrugged. "I guess you're right. But that doesn't matter now. Come on. Aisha called, and we gotta mobilize."

Skull scrambled up and kicked the skateboard into the corner. "Really? I mean, there was an attack this morning, but there was an explosion. I thought it was all over."

"Not according to her," Bulk said. "A Power Ranger told her that they were going to be unreachable for a while, and that there's two monsters wandering around Angel Grove. One of them's Goldar."

Skull paled. "So where are we all meeting, prez? The school?"

"Only place big enough to hold everyone," Bulk said. "I'm meeting with the school council, but I need you to get to Mr. Caplan's house. Tell him what we're doing."

"He's gonna be pissed," Skull pointed out.

"So what else is new?" Bulk said.


Goldar groaned as he opened his eyes. He squinted at the glaring light right above him. He felt something move in his helmet, and he sprang to his feet, ripping off his helmet and shaking it out. An earth animal fell out… a scorpion.

"Figures," Goldar muttered under his breath, giving the helmet a few more shakes before putting it back on.

He surveyed the former battlefield, now eerily quiet in the afternoon heat. The heat was mostly coming from the burning Zords, as this normally warm region was fast approaching its winter season. He coughed a few times, clearing the smoke from his lungs.

The Rangers were nowhere to be found. Of course.

Realizing that he'd have to report in and momentarily forgetting about his companion, he tried to teleport away. Nothing happened. He tried again, but to no avail. The fire, his method of transportation, wouldn't come. It flickered around him dully after the fifth try, but then sputtered out. He wasn't going anywhere.

A clattering of bones and a few curses reminded Goldar that he wasn't alone. "What the… what?!" Rito was getting to his feet, looking wildly around him. He spotted Goldar and ran up to him. "The most amazing thing just happened!"

Goldar ground his teeth. "We just lost the Power Rangers, and we can't teleport off this rock. How is any of that amazing, bonehead?"

"I slept," Rito said. "I was unconscious. It's been years since that happened."

"Good for you," Goldar grumbled. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

Rito waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry so much. Sis will get us out of here."

Goldar's eye twitched. "We failed our mission, bonehead. Do you think Empress Rita is going to be tripping over herself to get us home?"

"We didn't fail," Rito said. "We did about… say… eighty percent of the mission. Eighty-five, at least. That's gotta be a passing grade. I mean…" He gestured at the burning Zords.

"We were supposed to salvage them," Goldar pointed out. "And we'd better get on that, at least. Then maybe we can…"

"Hey, do you hear something?" Rito interrupted. "Sounds like someone counting backwards." He inched closer to the nearest Zord, which happened to be the head of the Megazord.

Goldar's eyes went wide. "Run, you idiot!" He grabbed Rito by his massive shoulder, pushed him ahead, and started running as if his life depended on it.

If they'd been human, the sheer sides of the rock quarry would have been an obstacle to their escape. The two warriors scaled it easily, barely slowing on their way up as they ran for the highway beyond.

"What are we running from?!" Rito yelled. Goldar noticed the bastard wasn't even out of breath.

"They've put a damn self-destruct device on the Zords!" Goldar yelled between gasps. He wanted to add a sarcastic remark, but it was at that moment that the countdown ended.

Goldar threw himself down to shield himself from the shockwave. Rito didn't, so he was blown across the highway, landing directly on his head.

When Goldar was sure that the explosion was done, he got up and wearily walked across the highway. A car passed him, swerved, and streaked off. Goldar tossed a vulgar gesture at the car that he was sure the human didn't understand. Rito was lying on the ground, not moving, but Goldar wasn't worried.

"Hey." Goldar kicked Rito roughly. "If you're done napping."

Rito sat up. "No luck. Didn't get to sleep that time."

Goldar glowered. "If you really want to be knocked out, I can arrange that."

"Doubt it," Rito said. "I bet it takes a lot to take me out. It's only happened once so far."

Goldar considered getting angry and starting a pointless fight, and while that would be satisfying, it would do jack-all to get them out of their situation. "Salvage is a bust, and Zedd and Rita's going to be pissed. They're not even contacting us. What do you suggest we do?"

"Aren't you supposed to be charge?" Rito said, getting up and brushing himself off.

"In charge of what? What mission?" Goldar gestured expansively. "We have no orders, no Power Rangers, no Zords…"

Rito shrugged. "We could just… you know… have fun?"

"Have fun," Goldar said flatly. "Okay. I'll bite. How?"

This time Rito actually rolled his eyes. Or, at least, the red lights in his eye sockets seemed to make that expression. "Come on, Goldy, ya gotta loosen up. You're going to strain something. Think about it. We've got a whole town out there, and no Power Rangers to get in our way. Don't you think it's about time to have some fun?"

"Like… attacking?" Goldar said slowly.

"Sure! I guess. I mean, we could literally do anything. No one's going to stand in our way. What's something you've always wanted to do on Earth?"

Goldar frowned. "Well… there is something… and if Zedd and Rita are already angry…"

Rito clapped him on the shoulder. "That's it. Stick with me, Goldar, and you might actually learn how to have fun!"


The Command Center was dark, relying on reserve power, so that only a few running lights illuminated the consoles. The lights of the Power Rangers teleporting lit the Command Center briefly. Alpha was sad to note that the Rangers did not teleport in their respective colors, but in uniform gray. He didn't mention it.

"Rangers, I'm so glad to see you," Alpha said. He would have usually thrown himself at them in a hug, but there was a quality to their grief that held him back.

He'd seen the Rangers in sadness, grief, shock, despair, and rage. He thought he'd seen the full range of human emotion, if you added in all the times he'd seen them happy, content, elated, determined, and joyful. This time, though, they seemed much more than any of that. They seemed lost. Incomplete. Like they'd lost much more than their powers and Zords.

"Alpha, from what Sylvia said, we owe you our lives," Tommy said, his voice quiet and restrained. "Thank you."

Alpha tried to come up with words, but it was difficult. He'd expected a lot of things when the Rangers returned, but he found that even the expected thanks was combined with a lot of other things that Alpha couldn't begin to understand, that he had nothing to say to it.

Kimberly saved him from having to answer. "So, what's the plan? I mean, are we really depowered?"

Alpha wilted a bit. "I'm afraid you are, Rangers. The Morphing Grid is of course still there, but without the Power Coins we don't have a strong connection to it. You can't morph, and trying to use the power of the Morphing Grid without a way to focus the power is dangerous."

Aisha had already grabbed a scanner, and she was scanning Adam. "I think there are traces of our morphing energy. Like echoes. At least that's what the scanner is showing." She looked at them. "Not enough to do anything."

"But Zordon has a backup plan, right?" Rocky said. "I mean, from what you guys have said, he's always had a backup plan before. You even lost your Zords, and he had new ones ready to go."

"Alpha…" Adam said slowly, "why is Zordon gone?"

Alpha put his hands together fretfully and looked down. "Well… I… Rangers… I had to… oh, ay-yi-yi, I had to break contact with him."

The Rangers looked dumbfounded. All but Tommy, who closed his eyes and put his head in his hand. "He was going to give himself up." He looked up at Alpha. "Wasn't he?"

Alpha didn't answer, but he didn't need to.

"Why would he do that?" Kimberly said. "If he's lost, it's all over. He knows that."

"I believe, Rangers, he wanted to bargain for your safety," Alpha said.

Billy, who had remained silent and subdued ever since he emerged from his bedroom, made an irritated sound under his breath. "I believe we've gone past reasonable expectations of forbearance with whatever Zordon has been concealing from us. He hasn't been the same since the attack from the Wizard of Deception, and now that's almost cost us the war and our lives. Alpha, I know you know what's wrong."

"Billy's right," Tommy said. "We've waited long enough for Zordon to tell us. I know we've got a lot to do, but we need to know why he almost gave up everything."

Alpha nodded and pressed a button on a console. A small speaker began playing the audio recording from earlier that day: the exchange between Zordon and Zedd and Rita.

The Rangers were struck by how defeated Zordon sounded, and any idea of a backup plan coming from him instantly evaporated. They listened as Rita detailed the mechanics of Zordon's surrender with growing horror, until Rita's taunts made everything clear.

"Your fears will be realized. I watched the Wizard of Deception. He forced you to kill each and every one of the Rangers, and then beg for your own life. That was my wedding present, if you must know. And if you refuse to completely surrender yourself, we will not hesitate to kill them, and their families, and your former Rangers, and their families. It will be public, painful, and humiliating. Only after that will I allow you to surrender yourself. I might even allow you to die, after you've outlasted your usefulness."

"Shut it off," Tommy said, his voice hollow. "Please."

Alpha complied. "I'm sorry, Rangers. I knew, but Zordon did not wish for any of you to know. He did not want you to know… his weakness."

Kimberly cocked her head, a pained and exasperated look on her face. "Yeah, well, he's an idiot. Bona fide moron. That or the years are finally catching up with him."

The rest of the Rangers looked at her, nonplussed.

"He cares about us," Kimberly said. "That's his big secret? That he loves us and worries that we'll die under his watch? News flash: that's not a weakness. I'd be worried if seeing something like that didn't bother him."

"So because he was so afraid we'd get killed, he almost let us get killed?" Aisha said. "Because that's what almost happened. He's been so distracted by stewing over what might happen, he let us go into that battle blind."

Tommy sighed. "I agree. I thought it might be something like this. I know he feels responsible for sending us into war, but the fact remains that we were chosen because we could hold power coins. Without us, the Earth would have been forfeit to Rita's reign sooner or later." He closed his eyes. "Okay, fine. Not as helpful as I thought it was going to be. Can we get Zordon back so he can help us figure out what the hell we do from here?"

"It's not going to be that simple, Tommy," Alpha said, for the first time sounding strained. "We don't have enough power. I've reserved some power for teleportation, but the rest has to go to keeping Zedd and Rita away from Earth."

"And I imagine we can't keep that up forever," Billy said. "I'll see what I can do to boost that power."

"Mind another hand at that?" Aisha said.

Billy smiled in response, and the two got to work.

"Good idea," Tommy said. "Rocky and Adam, you guys dive into the archives and see if you can find any other sources of power, either to restore our Ranger powers or to keep the shield going on Earth. Kim and I are going to try to make contact with some of our allies. We're going to need some help, and not just from our parents and the student council."

The Rangers sprang into action, and Alpha looked relieved that were working to solve the problem. Despite calling on his secret system of support, he'd been feeling quite alone.


"We're not calling on allies," Kimberly said as soon as she and Tommy left the main control room. They were headed to Tommy's office, the one he'd inherited from Jason, on the excuse that their communication attempts would be less distracting.

"Why do you say that?" Tommy said.

"Because we don't have any," Kimberly pointed out. "At least, none that are available. The Aquitian Rangers are in the middle of a murder mystery and political upheaval, and from what you said King Dex isn't going to leave New Edenoi. I'd say that adds up to jack and all, right?"

He didn't respond until the door to the office closed on them, and then he sagged. "Kim… what the hell are we going to do?"

Tommy became blurry, and Kimberly realized it was because her eyes were filling with tears. She wiped them away angrily, only to see that Tommy was having the same problem. She pulled him into a hug, and they held each other, silent except for bit-back sobs.

They pulled apart, still feeling miserable, but somehow better now that they didn't have to appear strong in front of the others. Kimberly dropped into the chair, drawing her legs up in it like a cat. "We have to get help from somewhere," she said. "Even with our parents and the shield, we can't do this ourselves."

"We have to get powers," Tommy amended, his voice rough from the tears. "Not just help. We have to be Power Rangers again. We can't protect the Earth without it."

He started pacing. "I mean, it's like it went out. Like a light. I don't even know how, unless…" He stopped and closed his eyes, his brow furrowing in concentration. Kimberly didn't interrupt him; it looked like he was on to something.

Finally, Tommy laughed bitterly. "Of course. Of fucking course. Come on… let's tell the others the bad news."

Abruptly, he left the office, and Kimberly ran after him. "Mind sharing the bad news with me first?"

Tommy shook his head. "I don't want to say this more than one time. We've been played, pretty thoroughly. Manipulated when we thought we were manipulating them."

"Who's being manipulated?" Adam said, catching the tail end of Tommy's sentence as they entered the main control room again.

"Us," Tommy said. "Or, at least, we were." His face was an odd mixture of anger and satisfaction, with possibly a vestige of pride. "I've figured out how we lost our powers."

"Do tell," Rocky said breezily, "because we're getting nowhere."

"Don't you think it was weird that Rito had Goldar's sword during the fight?" Tommy said.

They all looked at each other. They hadn't talked about the recent fight. It was all far too horrible. Still, it had been strange.

"Rito," Aisha said. "That's Rita's brother, right? And he was disguising himself as another skeleton dude that you guys fought a long time ago." She shrugged. "I get that he'd probably be stronger than the usual monster of the week, and that hiding that would put them at an advantage, but I'm not sure why he and Goldar would trade swords."

"Alpha, do we have enough power to call up the sheath for the Sword of Power?" Tommy said.

"I think so, Tommy," Alpha said. "I think I know what you're thinking."

With dawning horror, the Rangers took the materialized sheath and examined it. It was a weathered piece of leather, old and frayed with age already.

"There," Billy spotted, holding up a clean cut edge that revealed lighter leather. It was a minuscule nick, but it was easy to see now they knew what they were looking for.

"The fight in the park," Tommy said slowly. "When Kimberly and I were faking that fight to get Saba back. Goldar must have cut the sheath in the scuffle, and that's all they needed. Rito fought us not just with Goldar's sword, but with a piece of the sheath along with it."

"Thus transferring the power," Aisha said. "Just like when we got the powers in the first place. But… where did it transfer to?"

"It didn't have a direction," Tommy said. "But I reckon it went to the Zords. Or maybe back in the morphing grid. Or it's hiding in the power coins, waiting to regenerate." He held out his own power coin, blackened and damaged in the explosion. "Thing is, we can't access it now. Or, we can't access those powers." He sighed. "In the meantime, I didn't pick up on it, but Saba was acting really weird. My guess is that Rita did something to him, something that hurt the Zords. The Zords should have gone dormant, not exploded. So, like I said. They manipulated us, right from the beginning."

"So what the hell do we do now?" Rocky said, unconsciously echoing Tommy's earlier statement of despair.

This time, though, Tommy wasn't going to crumble. "We get new powers. We can't protect Earth without being Power Rangers, no matter what help we get or how many allies we call on. I'd… I'd like to ask Zordon about it. He gave us the power coins in the first place, so he knows about the powers. But that's not option. We need to find another source."

"I mean, there are other Power Rangers," Aisha said. "There's gotta be other ways to get power."

Kimberly nodded wearily. While the loss of power was traumatic to everyone, including herself, she knew it was hitting Tommy the hardest. He would immediately want to search for new powers, no matter what kind of danger they were all in. He'd already had one traumatic experience with losing his powers. Two, really. Not being the only one losing his powers this time couldn't make it easier, and he also didn't have any Eltarian dimension-hopping mojo in his favor like the last time he'd lost his powers.

"Oohhhh," Kimberly said slowly, causing the Rangers to break from their reveries. "Oh, no no no…"

"God, is something else going wrong?" Tommy said. "I mean, it'd be the day for it, but…"

Kimberly held up a hand for silence, making sure the plan made any sort of sense before voicing it. She looked up at Tommy. "I just got a really, really bad idea."


"What are you talking about?!" Rito said. "This is a great idea!"

Looking at the darkened room, empty of the cowering humans that had fled at their arrival, Goldar was starting to have second thoughts. That wasn't what he'd pictured. Truthfully, he'd always imagined being here anonymously, amidst humans who did not care he was there. Being a monster made you feel powerful, but is was also exhausting and isolating.

He was lonely, and this dark, empty room did nothing to ease the loneliness.

Still, Rito pulled at his arm excitedly, so Goldar followed him into the bowling alley.

"So, the whole point of this game is to throw the ball and knock down the pins?" Rito asked. "Easy Peasy!"

He grabbed a 16 pound bowling ball and tossed it like a baseball at the pins across the alley. It knocked down all the pins but then crash through barrier rather than fall into the ball retrieval hole."

Rito scratched his head. "Did I win? How do I get the ball back?"

Goldar sighed and picked up a ball, heading for another lane. "First, you're supposed to roll the across the floor. Most humans can't do what you just did. The floor is slick past that barrier, which you aren't supposed to cross, so you don't lose much friction."

With that, Goldar slid the ball down the lane, trying to imitate the humans he'd seen. The ball swerved a bit, almost went in the gutter, but then curved back and hit the pins. Seven went down, leaving a gap in the middle. The machine cleared the fallen pins, and a minute later the ball came rolling back through the retrieval machine, startling Rito.

"Second, if you do it like this, the ball comes right back to you," Goldar finished.

"But I knocked all my thingies down, and you didn't," Rito complained. "How's your way better?"

"It's not a game about strength," Goldar said. "It's about control… which you obviously don't have." He tossed the ball in the air, testing the weight, and then threw it down the lane. It two pins, which knocked the other pin down as they fell sideways.

Rito nodded slowly. "Say… is this one of those human places that serves beer?"

Goldar chuckled at that. "Yes. Yes they do."


Bulk was busy overseeing the food stores in the gym. He knew that five other people were wanting his attention, and he was trying not to scream, or at least keep all his screams internal. Truthfully, he'd rather face a squadron of Putties and a couple of monsters thrown in rather than actually be in charge.

And Aisha wasn't there. Of course. Great. Her big idea, and now he was the one who had to do everything.

Bulk talked big. He liked to think big, but he was much more comfortable on the sidelines, making snide remarks and laughing with Skull. This whole actual responsibility thing sucked, but he was stuck in it. He had football players, soccer players, and track runners going out in groups and finding people to bring to the gym. The rest of the clubs were organizing food and shelter, just in case they had to stay there long-term. Mary Catherine, student council secretary and president of the science club, had all the brains doing the most important thing: preparing the gym to be secure.

Weirdly, there were plenty of seniors there, including those in their own student government, but everyone was deferring to Bulk's authority. Again, great. Just great.

A runner Bulk didn't recognize ran up to Ashley, the vice-president. The runner gratefully went to get some water, and Ashley came up to Bulk.

"Clay reported that Goldar and some kinda skeleton guy are in the bowling alley?" she said. "He says they're bowling?" She laughed a bit wildly. "He might be dehydrated."

"No, that's good," Bulk said. "If they're bowling, they're not attacking. Tell any scouting groups to steer clear of the bowling alley and report if they see them anywhere else."

Ashley nodded and walked off, and still no one was taking the responsibility away from Bulk.

Skull ran up to Bulk. He'd been part of some of the retrieval teams, but his lack of endurance compared to the athletes convinced him to stay in the gym. Bulk was glad; Skull was the only one who knew how miserable Bulk was at the moment, and that made him feel better. "Bulky, Mr. Caplan's here. Mary Catherine told him you were in charge."

"Oh no," Bulk said. Oh, thank you, sweet Jesus, Bulk thought. A light at the end of the tunnel. He scanned the crowd desperately for Mr. Caplan, and almost missed the man, as he was dressed in a polo shirt and khakis rather than his usual suit.

"Mr. Caplan, I can explain…" Bulk said.

"I certainly hope so," Mr. Caplan said, and Bulk was disturbed to see the man smiling. "You've managed to organize the entire area in one of the best-run evacuation shelters I've ever seen. I have to say, I'm impressed. Is that the force field device the Power Rangers gave me before the attack on the high school last year?" He pointed to the machine the science club was poring over.

Skull goggled at the two of them while Bulk tried to come up with something to say. He was not used to receiving compliments from Mr. Caplan, and certainly not about taking over the gym without permission.

"Yes… I mean… Billy Cranston made some improvements on it," Bulk stammered. "We're just waiting until all our scouts come back before turning it on. So, I mean, now that you're here, I guess you want to take over…"

"Oh, I don't think that would be the best thing," Mr. Caplan said blithely.

"Wha…"

"You seem to be running a tight ship," Mr. Caplan said, "and I would just be getting in the way. We can call this a learning experience." He smiled broadly. "So, what can I do to help."

The little flicker of hope died, and Bulk resigned himself to his fate. "You know everyone in the school, so you're going to be best at doing a head count. I've already got the senior and sophomore presidents doing that; you can fill in the gaps."

"Yes, sir," Mr. Caplan said, giving a sort of military salute, and then walked away, leaving Bulk to his despair.


The space just beyond the central control area of the Command Center was weakly lit by emergency lights, and now the flickering dimensional transponders. Billy locked the third on into place with a satisfying click. It would produce a triangular field which would, if they worked right, send them to another dimension.

Or possibly disintegrate them on an atomic level, but they'd all decided to ignore that particular risk.

"Is it ready?" Kimberly asked in a low voice. The others were talking in the main control area, making preparations.

Billy nodded. "All I have to do is activate the field. We can leave at any time."

Kimberly squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "We haven't forgotten about Cestria, Billy. As soon as we solve our problem on Earth, we'll contact the Aquitian Ranger. Hell, we'll teleport there, consequences be damned."

Billy smiled weakly. "I thought I was hiding my worry rather well."

"Not to your best friend," Kimberly said. She sighed. "It sucks."

"It really does," Billy agreed.

They walked to the main control area, where Alpha was briefing them on where they planned to go.

"We can't tell where you'll materialize in this dimension, Rangers," Alpha continued, holding up an old weathered map. It showed a desert, a forest, a cliffside, and a tower. "All we know that the cave is in the Desert of Despair. I will try to get you as close as I can to the cave, but if you end up somewhere else, you'll have to make your way to the desert. On foot, since you won't be able to teleport."

"Desert of Despair," Rocky said. "That sounds cheery." He cut his eyes over to Tommy. "Are you sure we can trust this guy? What'd you call him… Ninja?"

"Ninjor," Tommy corrected. "And I honestly don't know if we can trust him or not. The last time I met him, he knew who I was and attacked me on sight. Zordon said Ninjor used to be on our side, but he abandoned the war. Right now, he doesn't want to be on anyone's side."

"He's the one who made the power coins in the first place," Kimberly said. "We've got to convince him to make more."

"We could make our own coins," Tommy said, "like the White Ranger powers."

"We don't have the time, we don't have the resources, and we don't have Zordon right now." Kimberly sighed. "I know it's a bad idea. I know that. But if we're going to get our powers back, we're out of options."

"I think it's a good idea," Adam said. "If he's really good, he'll want to help us. He won't want to see a bunch of innocent people get killed."

Aisha frowned. "If he doesn't want a bunch of innocent people killed, he would already be helping our side. He wouldn't need convincing. I think he doesn't want to see a lot of people get killed, and he can avoid that just fine by staying in his cave."

"We've got to have faith," Kimberly said. "I don't care if we have power or not; we're still the Power Rangers, and that means we have to try our hardest to protect the Earth. If that means going to the Desert of Despair, or getting new powers, or, hell, fighting the monsters empty-handed, we've got to try."

"Come on, guys," Rocky said, "we're heroes. Isn't it time we went on a real quest?"

Tommy took a deep breath. "All right, then let's do this." He nodded to Alpha. "Can we get a few copies of that map? We don't want to lose our only copy."

"Right, Tommy."

"Pack up our survivalist gear, then," he said. "We leave in half an hour."

As the Rangers dispersed, Tommy stared at the dimensional portal, and then back up to Zordon's tube. "I wish I knew if this was the right thing to do," he whispered. "I wish you could tell me."


Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa stared at the now-unattainable Earth. They'd tried everything, short of boarding Serpentera, and they weren't sure if Serpentera had the energy to breach the barrier and get to Earth without crashing.

That, however, didn't mean that Earth was completely unattainable. It just meant that they had to have more patience.

There was a squawking, shrieking sound. Finster hurried from the corridor into the throne room. "My queen, my lord, your Tenga warriors are now fully mature and ready for your orders," he said proudly.

Rita beamed at the bird creatures that filed in. Her brother really had pulled through, for once. These birds were not Putties: they were biological beings rather than homunculi made of clay and powered by magic. They were functionally immortal, disappearing and regenerating when defeated, and getting marginally stronger every time. And, most importantly, they were small enough to breach the barrier around Earth with no hassle.

"Tenga warriors," Lord Zedd addressed them. "You are to fly to Earth and attack Angel Grove. Punish those who would defy us. And if you see those teenagers who call themselves Power Rangers… kill them."

Rita laughed wildly as the birds took flight, zooming through the vacuum of space with no problem. "Fly, my pretties!" she called out, and then fell into laughter. Lord Zedd pulled her close to him, and they began to waltz. They had suffered unexpected set-backs, certainly, but the victory would still be theirs.