Author's Note: Lately my interest in writing has gone downhill. I don't know what is wrong with me but I really don't want to write. I am trying to overcome this obstacle but it is difficult. This chapter was difficult to write; I wasn't sure how far I could go in forms of 'mature themes' when it came to mixing up Power Rangers, in other stories I have a lot more leeway because they are aimed at teens and not children.
Dedications: Thank you to: Snowmelodyheart, ItsJustBecca, Powerrangerzrock, Sarah132cs and Layla347 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.
"What good will Tommy's power coin do if he doesn't have his powers anymore?" Kim asked as Jason took the seventh and remaining power coin from Lana Archer.
Before Zordon had a chance to reply, Alpha interrupted the conversation with news on the missing parents of Angel Grove. "Rangers, we've located your parents," he said, bringing up the coordinates on the viewing globe.
"Oh, look at them, you guys," Kim said, covering her mouth with her hands. "This is so awful."
"We have to try," Jason said.
"Jason's right, we can't give up now," Trini agreed.
"I just hope they're alright," Zack said.
"I assure you, your parents are safe for now," Zordon said.
"But what can we do?" Billy asked. "And what about Nuala? Have you been able to find her, Alpha?"
"I'm still trying, Rangers," Alpha said. "But without her power coin it is difficult."
"What about Ciaran?" Lana asked. She was bouncing Ellis in her arms. The twelve-month-year-old could tell something was wrong, and was crying for his mother.
"Ciaran's telecomunicator puts him with the parents," Alpha said, showing a small blip on his radar. "Nuala isn't with him."
Lana sighed and kissed her grandson's head. "Don't worry, little guy, we'll find mummy," she promised.
"What do we do, Zordon?" Kim asked.
"First we must locate Tommy," Zordon answered. "Alpha, find him and teleport him here immediately."
"Right away, Zordon," Alpha nodded. He flipped the switches on the switchboard and started a search of Angel Grove for Tommy. No sooner than a few minutes later, Alpha announced that he had found the one of the two missing rangers. There was a flash of green light and Tommy appeared in front of his friends.
Turning on the spot, Tommy smiled at the sight of his friends behind him.
"Welcome back, old friend," Jason said, shaking hands with the former Green Ranger. When Jason dropped his hand, Tommy saw his power coin in his palm. He frowned and looked up at the red Ranger; the last time he had been in the command centre he had given his power coin to Nuala.
"Not that I'm not glad to have this back," Tommy said. "But how do you have it? Where's Nuala, she promised to look after it."
"And she did," Jason said, nodding. "But circumstances have arisen and, unfortunately, she's not here to give it back to you."
"What do you mean 'not here'?" Tommy asked, looking around at his friends. His gaze fell on Lana and Ellis Archer, the little boy was lying on his grandmother's shoulder, tears glittering in his eyes. "Where is she?"
The Rangers each exchanged looks.
"Chris took her," Jason answered.
Tommy froze. He'd heard a lot of stories about Nuala's ex-partner (he wasn't really a boyfriend), and knew of the problems he had caused Nuala back in Ireland. He knew that, because of Chris Anderson, Nuala was a mother at seventeen. She may have been an excellent mother, but the fact remained that she was still a young mother.
"He took her?" Tommy repeated. "Took her where?"
"We're not sure," Jason said. "All we know is that he has taken our power coins and Nuala. We need your help to get our coins back. We need them to be able to save our parents, Ciaran and Nuala."
"Whoa, wait a minute, what happened to Ciaran?" Tommy asked, confused.
"We seem to think that he got caught in the backlash of Rita's plan to kidnap our parents," Zack answered.
Tommy sighed heavily and nodded. "OK. I'll do whatever I can to help," he said. "But how? How can I without my powers."
"I believe the only way possible is to infuse Tommy with an enormous amount of my own energy," Zordon answered.
"But, Zordon, that could be extremely dangerous," Billy interrupted. "For both you and Tommy."
"I agree with Billy," Jason said. "What happens if these temporary powers give out during a fight?"
"Yeah, we can't ask Tommy to take that risk," Kim agreed, nodding.
"No. Nuala was my first friend here in Angel Grove, I'll do whatever it takes to get her back," Tommy said, clutching his power coin. "When do we begin?" he asked Alpha.
~*A Dire Situation*~
Nuala screamed as Chris slammed her into the wall of his quarters. She groaned and slid to the floor, blood clung to the small strands of hair at the edge of her skull and blended in with her red hair; her jaw was numb, her lip was already split and she could taste the metallic substance of blood.
"Where's your courage now, huh?" Chris asked, standing over her. "Where's your 'You can't push me around anymore' attitude?!"
"You can't push me around anymore," Nuala said, trying to stand up. Her legs quivered and threatened to give out, but she braced herself against the wall and glared at Chris. "I won't let you."
"Then why aren't you fighting back?"
"I don't need to fight you to prove that you have no control."
Chris growled, grabbed her arm and forced her back to her feet. He held her against the wall again and hit her several times across the cheek, the right side of her face blossomed with a bright red patch, and tears appeared in her green eyes. "That's it," he sneered. "Cry like the bitch that you are."
Nuala shook her head.
"What?" Chris hissed.
"I won't cry for you," Nuala said. "That's what you want. To make me cry. But I won't... I won't do it!"
Harshly, Chris shoved her against the wall once more. Nuala felt the top the bones near her shoulder pop and more pain flared around the joint. The last time Chris had man-handled her he had very nearly pulled her shoulder bone out of its socket. "You will do as I say or suffer the consequences!" he snarled.
Forcing herself to look him in the eye, Nuala shook her head. "No," she said, defiantly.
"We'll see about that," Chris said. He let her go and she slid to the floor, curling into a ball. Chris stormed back to the door and wrenched it open. "You see, Nuala, I'm not about to punish you for your defiance, although you will feel the pain. The brunt end will go to someone, who I feel, may get you to change your mind."
Nuala stared, terrified at the door as it was slammed shut behind Chris. She feared who he would go for. The rest of her friends, her mother and her son would be at the command centre, she was positive of that, but Tommy was still out there and Rita had already captured Ciaran.
As she sat, curled into a ball, at the far side of the room. Nuala started to rock back and forth. Tears slipped freely down her cheeks and her heart hammered painfully inside her chest. She'd long since powered down, and knew that Rita and Goldar now had her power coin. Chris had made sure that she couldn't escape, the second he had her alone he had smashed her communicator, he had said that he didn't want to risk her teleporting out or any of the others teleporting in.
Chris had always been a 'one-person' kinda guy, and often got agitated when there was more than one person to handle.
No more than ten minutes after he had left, Chris returned. Nuala backed herself further into her corner and stared, fearfully at the door as it crashed open. Chris was grunting, as if he was pulling something across the hallway floor. There was a scream of "Let me go, you bastard!" and then Ciaran was thrown into view.
"Ci!" Nuala squealed, scrambling across the floor to her brother. She had barely reached his side when Chris grabbed her around the waist and hauled her away. He tossed her onto the bed, slapping her across the face and causing her to cry out in pain. "Let him go!" she begged. "Please, Chris, please, just let him go!"
"Then cry for me!" Chris spat.
"What?"
"Cry for me!" Chris repeated. "Every time you tell me no, he gets punished."
Nuala shook her head, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. "Please," she begged. "Please, don't... don't do this to him. Just let him go."
Chris smiled, evilly as he saw the tears. He reached out and brushed one away with his thumb, Nuala cringed and Chris's face darkened. He pushed away from her and moved back to stand above Ciaran. The little boy stared, wide-eyed at the gold Ranger as he grabbed his shoulder and pulled back his fist.
"NO!" Nuala screamed, diving off of the bed. She threw herself over her brother and cringed as Chris's fist smashed into her back, knocking her on top of Ciaran.
~*A Dire Situation*~
Clenching his hand over his power coin, Tommy absorbed the power that Zordon was giving him. He could feel his power returning, the same power he had lost no more than a few months ago; the warm surge swept through his body like a wave of pins and needles, but as uncomfortable as it was, Tommy knew it was necessary. Receiving Ranger power wasn't like flipping on a light switch.
"Amazing," Zack said, watching with bated breath.
"I hope this works," Trini said, wringing her hands nervously.
Billy, however, seemed hesitant of the whole procedure. Not only was he worried about the effect the power would have on Tommy, but he also knew that if Zordon used too much energy he'd disappear. "Zordon, be careful," he said. "If you drain too much of your energy you'll cease to exist."
"Billy's right," Alpha agreed.
"Rangers, it is our only chance to rescue Nuala, your parents and get back to power coins," Zordon replied. "You worry too much."
Kim covered her mouth with her hands as she stared at Tommy. "Please let this happen," she pleaded.
"It's working," Jason said, as the green Ranger uniform returned, covering Tommy from head-to-toe and his helmet snapped into place.
"Whoa," said Tommy, looking himself over. "This is amazing. I'm back."
"Good luck, Tommy," Zordon said, teleporting him straight to the area where the power coins energy was located. It was a remote part of town, near the woodland area; a small pool of water lay at the base of the mountainside and Goldar stood on a ledge overlooking the power coins which were on a pedestal near the pool.
~*A Dire Situation*~
Goldar snarled when he saw Tommy, fully morphed and ready for action. "You again, green weakling," he growled.
"That's right, Goldar!" Tommy shouted.
"You have no chance of defeating me!" Goldar laughed.
"We'll see about that."
"Empty threats from a powerless Ranger."
"I am more than enough to beat you, Goldar."
"I shall enjoy crushing you again," said Goldar, jumping down from the ledge. "You've come for your precious Dragon Dagger and your pathetic power coins." He closed the lid of the box in which the power coins lay, and set the dagger down beside it. "Come and get them."
"You forgot Nuala," Tommy said. "I'm here for her too."
Goldar scoffed. "Your silver friend is history, green Ranger," he said. "You won't want her back when we're through with her."
"We'll be the judge of that," Tommy said. "So, it's just you and me, Goldar."
"Putty patrol," Goldar chuckled. "Take care of my old friend."
Realising that he shouldn't have underestimated Goldar and expected him to fight without a horde of putty patrollers, Tommy jumped up and kick-flipped two as they got closer, he landed and quickly swept the feet out from underneath another on-coming Putty and then jumped backwards to avoid a punch from a third. Flipping over three times, Tommy jumped into the air and kicked two putties in the chest, sending them down simultaneously.
Once he was close enough to Goldar, he turned on the giant monkey and aimed a kick for his shoulder plates. Goldar blocked, striking Tommy in the chest with his fist. The green Ranger stumbled back, but caught himself quickly. He jumped up and tried to kick Goldar's head, but Goldar swatted him away and kicked him in the stomach.
"Had enough already," Goldar asked as Tommy lay on his stomach in front of him.
"I'll never give in to you, Goldar," Tommy said, struggling to his feet.
"Get up, then, and fight me," Goldar demanded.
Feeling a surge of power wash over him, Tommy jumped to his feet and lunged for Goldar. He punched at the gold monkey, striking him in the chest and causing him to stumble backwards. With Goldar taken by surprise, Tommy turned and dealt effectively with the rest of the putties, but for every two he knocked down, several more arrived to take its place.
Goldar growled as he made a grab for Tommy. The green Ranger dived aside and fell to his knees as his powers started to fade again. "No," he gasped, clutching his chest. "Don't quit on me, power!" He struggled to his feet and rushed towards the box on the pedestal. It was so close; all he had to do was reach it and teleport.
Tommy cried out in pain as his fingers brushed across the lid of the box and he was electrocuted by the dark energy surrounding it. He hit the ground groaning, but when he looked to his left he grinned as he saw he had managed to gain the Dragon Dagger. "I got it!" he said, picking it up and facing Goldar again. He raised the dagger to his lips and played the fanfare that controlled the Dragonzord. It ceased it's destruction on Angel Grove containment port.
Goldar growled in anger and, with the help of Rita, grew to Megazord height. He was quickly joined by Scorpina and the two faced off against the Dragonzord.
"Come on, my friend," Tommy said, controlling the Zord from the ground. "One last time."
The lights on the dragon's chest lit up and beeped rapidly as the missiles in its fingers were fired at the two monsters ahead of him. Goldar and Scorpina batted the missiles away with their swords and then leapt at the Zord.
As the Dragonzord fought of Goldar with its claws, it swung around and hit Scorpina with its tail, knocking her down. Jumping over the dragonzord, Goldar stood protectively in front of Scorpina, raising his sword and pointing it at the Dragonzord.
Has he watched his Zord take a beating, Tommy remembered that with Goldar and Scorpina fighting the Dragonzord he had clear access to the power coins. Turning on the spot, he quickly jumped down from the ledge and run over to the podium, the force field sparked again, as if sensing the presence of good nearby.
Taking a deep breath, Tommy picked up the box, feeling the surge of evil power mixing with his own energy source from Zordon. He felt his body grow numb, his eyes blurred and the last thing he saw was a putty heading towards him.
~*A Dire Situation*~
"Tommy!" Kim screeched as the green Ranger keeled over and landed at her feet the second he reappeared in the command centre.
"He doesn't look good," Jason said, removing his friends' helmet. Tommy was pale faced and sweating. "But he did it. Look, he brought back our power coins."
"Oh, Alpha, is he going to be all right?" Kim asked as the rest of Tommy's suit powered down.
"His readings are very low," Alpha answered.
"We should get him off the floor," Lana said. She'd set Ellis to play with his toys and returned to help with Tommy, giving her background as a nurse she knew that'd she'd be able to keep him comfortable until he woke up.
Jason and Zack nodded and each lifted Tommy up, whilst Kim and Trini cleared a table nearby. The red and black Rangers heaved their friend onto the surface and stepped back, leaving Lana and Kim to watch over Tommy.
"How's he doing?" Jason asked after a while.
"Well, he's resting comfortably," Lana replied, "and he seems to breathing OK."
"That's a good sign," Trini said.
Kim nodded in agreement.
"I can't believe we lost Zordon, as well as our parents, Nuala and Ciaran," Zack sighed, looking up at the giant empty cylinder.
"Don't say that, Zack," Billy said, looking up from his search. "Alpha," he looked around for the small robot. "There has to be something we can do."
"I've been thinking about that, Rangers," said Alpha, returning to the computers. "I've come to the conclusion that what worked for Tommy might work for Zordon."
"Wait, you want to run that by me again," Zack said, confused.
"If Zordon used his energy to infuse Tommy," Billy said. "Why can't we use our power coins to infuse him?"
"If we held them together and concentrate their energy toward Zordon," said Trini.
"We can bring him back," Kim said.
"Will it work with Nuala?" Zack asked.
"It has too," said Jason, reaching for his power coin. "Come on." The others nodded and gathered round their leader, each holding out their power coins. "We call on the power of all those combined.
"Triceratops!"
"Mastodon!"
"Sabre-Toothed Tiger!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
The energy from each power coin fused together and hit the cylinder. Zordon flickered in and out of existence before returning, fully functional to his home. He smiled down at the Rangers and nodded once.
"Rangers, I thank you," he said.
"Ay-yi-yi," Alpha said, walking through the rangers. "This is just too emotional for my robotic neurons."
Kim and Trini giggled.
"Oh, Alpha, don't," Trini said, hugging the robot. "You'll rust."
"I just wish we could bring the others back as easily," Billy said. His thoughts were still consumed with his missing father and Nuala.
"We will think of something," Jason promised.
Lana sighed and braced herself against the table that Tommy lay on. She was worried about her son and daughter; she was also worried about Tommy and his well-being, not to mention Jason, Billy, Kim, Trini and Zack's. Sometimes, like right now, it seemed that they had been tasked with the impossible, and as a mother, she had every right to be worried about the children in her care - be they her's or not.
~*A Dire Situation*~
"You numbskulls," Rita yelled, towering over Scorpina and Goldar. "You had green Ranger had you let him get away! Lucky for you I still have a backup plan, and the Rangers are still a Ranger short. Goldar, bring me my Prince of Darkness."
"Yes, my Queen," Goldar said, crossing his arm over his chest and walking off down the hall. He passed by Chris's door and, without knocking, walked inside. He stood in the doorway for a few minutes, watching how Chris knocked the silver Ranger around a few times. Every time she got back up to fight, the gold Ranger would knock her back down.
Nuala huffed as she landed on her hands for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. Her body was aching, blood and sweat clung to her face and neck, and random parts of her body and face stung from open wounds and bruises. Her arms were already flourishing with new bruises, but Nuala avoided looking at them.
"Get up," Chris said, grabbing Nuala's shoulder and forcing her to her feet. He dragged her back across the room by her arm and threw her to the floor. Having no energy left, Nuala landed on her stomach and blew her hair from her face. She wasn't too far away from Ciaran, the young boy looked almost as bad as she felt.
"Ci," Nuala cried, reaching out for her brother. Chris stopped her by pressing his foot down on her wrist until she cried out in pain. "Please, just let him go," she pleaded. "He's got nothing to do with this. He's an innocent. It's me that you want."
"You were the only thing that I wanted," Chris said. "But now, now that I've got power, I want to do what I should've done in the first place."
"What's that?" Nuala asked, feeling him add more pressure her to wrist.
"Wipe the entire Archer name from existence," Chris said, grinning maliciously. "I'll start with you and your brat of a brother, and then I'll work my way up to your mother, and finally I'll finish with that bastard of a son. I think I'll take my time with him, as his only existence is to spite me."
"NO!" Nuala screamed. She tugged her hand out from under his foot and jumped back to her feet. At the idea of Chris being anywhere near her son seemed to fuel her desire to protect her family. She didn't care what he did to her, as long as her family was safe.
Chris laughed again and caught Nuala's wrist as she aimed a punch at him. He pushed her hand down to her waist and wrapped his free hand around her throat, slamming her against the wall again. Her eyes filled with painful tears and she struggled against him, but one squeeze on her throat settled her down.
"Please," Nuala begged.
"Aw, don't cry, pet," Chris said, wiping her tears. "It will all be over soon."
"Anderson," Goldar growled.
Chris released Nuala, allowing her to drop to the floor, and curl up into a ball at the base. He turned his back on her and faced Goldar. "What do you want?" he hissed.
"Rita requests your presence," Goldar said.
"Fine. I'm coming," Chris said, annoyed that his fun with Nuala was cut short. He paused at the door and turned back to face her. "Don't worry, pet, I'll be back soon."
Nuala wanted to retort, but figured it would be in her's and Ciaran's best judgment to stay quiet. As the door slammed on her, she could hear the distinctive turn of a key as Chris locked them both inside. Her only way out was via teleportation, but her communicator was broken.
Ciaran groaned as he started to come too. Nuala quickly pushed herself across the floor towards him, and held his head and upper torso in her arms. "Nuala?" he asked.
"Shh! It's OK, I'm here," Nuala whispered, tears falling freely down her face.
"What happened?" Ciaran asked.
"Nothing you need to worry about," Nuala said. "Don't worry; I'm going to get you out of here." She picked up her smashed communicator and sighed. "Somehow."
"Will this help?" Ciaran asked, digging into his jean pocket. He removed his communicator. He'd taken it off when Chris had come get him from the dark dimension, knowing that the overgrown bully would just try and destroy it otherwise.
Nuala stared, slack-jawed and wide-eyed at the communicator. She wondered if it worked. Even if she couldn't contact her friends', she could at least send a distress signal asking for them to teleport them.
"I don't know," Nuala answered her brother as she took the communicator. "Let's give it a go."
Ciaran nodded and Nuala activated the distress beacon. She hoped the signal was strong enough to reach Earth, and she prayed that her friends' received it soon. She didn't think that she could withstand another beating from Chris.
~*A Dire Situation*~
Ellis screamed loudly as the alarm that alerted the Rangers to trouble in the city screeched loudly throughout the command centre. He had been playing quietly by himself while his grandmother checked on Tommy and the other Rangers searched for his mother and uncle. The alarm had startled him, and he had reacted the only way he knew how.
"Hey, hey, shh, it's OK, tiger toes," Lana cooed as she lifted him into her arms and rocked him. She held the back of his head and patted his back in rhythm with her movement. But still, Ellis cried. He had heard the alarm many times before, but this time he had been caught unaware.
"Rangers," Zordon's voice boomed over the alarm. It brought very little comfort to Ellis and seemed to rile him up more. Lana tried to calm her grandson down, she couldn't ask Zordon to lower his voice for the sake of the child, and he needed to be heard. It was important to the Rangers and the fate of the city. "The Dramole Monster as come up through the Earth's surface."
"We've got to stop it," Jason said.
"Once this monster has been destroyed your parents will be free," Zordon explained."
"Alright, let's go get that disgusting rat," said Kim.
"Wait, there is more," Zordon said. "I am picking up energy signatures of the gold Ranger. He is in downtown Angel Grove."
Jason hesitated and glanced to his friends. With Tommy out of battle until his energy revitalized, and Nuala missing, there were only five of them. In order to fight both Chris and the Dramole monster they would've had to split up.
"How serious a problem is Chris?" Lana asked. "I mean, is he just there or is he causing actual trouble?"
"For the moment it seems he is just there," Alpha replied.
"He's trying to make you choose," Lana said to Jason. "Between Nuala and the city. It's his challenge. 'I have Nuala, you want her back, then come get her.' Don't give him what he wants. Go deal with the Dramole."
"But won't that give him what he wants?" Jason asked. "Won't he go back and tell Nuala that we've given up on her?"
"Nuala knows that you'll never give up on her. In the last few months that we've been here, I've never seen her so happy," Lana said with a smile. "You make her feel safe. Normally, when Chris is on the scene, all Nuala wishes to do is run away. You guys give her the strength to stay and face him. She's not going to believe anything he says."
Still, Jason hesitated.
The alarms still blared loudly, but Ellis's cries had dwindled to small sobs. He rubbed his eyes, smearing his tears right across his face, causing his cheeks to glow. Kim smiled and reached over to wipe away the remains of his anguish and fear.
"I say we go for it," the pink Ranger said.
"Me too," Trini agreed.
"The sooner we put down the Dramole monster," said Zack. "The sooner we can deal with Chris and get Nuala back."
"Once we're at full strength we can focus on retrieving our parents," Billy said, nodding.
Jason sighed and looked to Ellis and Lana. The little boy was lying on his grandmother's shoulder, his eyes still wet from crying. In the last few months Nuala had become like a sister to him and he adored Ellis as much as his friends did. If he couldn't bring his own parents home just yet, then the least he could do is make one person happy. "OK," he said. "Let's do it."
"Keep in mind," Lana added, quickly. "If Chris sees you. Then there is a good chance that he'll come to you."
"We know," Jason said, nodding. He had thought of that. It was like Lana had said, he wanted them to choose. The city or Nuala. If they went to fight the Dramole monster then there was every chance that Chris would show up in his own Zord and try to anger for choosing the city over their friend.
"You can't let him get to you," Lana added, her gaze sweeping over the Rangers and landing on Billy. "He'll say things that'll make you want to retaliate. But you can't let him get under your skin."
Kim nodded and glanced around at her friends. They each wanted to see Nuala home safe; they each wanted her as far away from Chris as possible.
"You must use caution, Rangers: Dramole is dangerous," Zordon added. "Avoid the mind-control gases emitted from his nozzles."
"Zordon's right, remember what happened to me," Billy said.
"Lana, will Tommy be all right?" Kim asked.
"I'll watch over him," Lana promised the teen.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Zack asked. "Let's go get our parents and Ciaran."
"And Nuala," Billy added.
"It's Morphin' time!" Jason said, reaching behind him for his morpher.
"Mastodon!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Triceratops!"
"Sabre-Toothed Tiger!"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
With the rangers off to fight the monster, Lana tried to put Ellis back down to play with his toys, but he clung to her neck and screamed. Figuring that the alarm had scared him more than usual, Lana sighed and carried him over to where Tommy was resting. The green Ranger was breathing on his own, but he was still unconscious.
"Come on, Tommy," Lana said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "The others need you."
"Dwagon. Rawr," Ellis said, holding his hands up in the air for the dragon's roar.
Lana smiled and carefully set Ellis on Tommy's stomach. This time the little boy let her go and looked down at his mother's new friend. Ellis had liked Tommy right off the bat, he had felt safe with him from the moment he had first met him, and even though he was too young to understand that Tommy had become a Ranger due to an evil spell, he still felt safe.
"Mummy?" Ellis asked, looking up at his grandmother.
"Mummy be home soon, sweet pea," Lana said, running her hands through his hair. "You'll see."
Ellis lowered his gaze and looked back at Tommy. "Seepin'," he said, pointing at the green Ranger.
"Mhm," Lana said, nodding. "Tommy sleeping. He'll wake up soon."
"Up!" Ellis laughed, holding his arms above his head. He looked back at Tommy and smiled. "Tomme, up!" he said, lifting his hands up above his head again, almost as if he was lifting a spell and awakening the green Ranger. When nothing happened, Ellis lowered his arms and looked to his grandmother sadly.
Lana smiled and picked up her grandson again. "Don't worry, little guy," she said. "Everything will work out soon enough."
"Mummy," Ellis said, tearfully as he rested his head back on his grandmother's shoulder. "Tomme."
Lana soothed him again by rocking him. She knew how hard it was for her to watch everything happen, and know that Nuala was in trouble, but she couldn't begin to comprehend what it was like for Ellis. He was just a baby; he didn't understand what was happening. All he knew was that his mother had disappeared a while ago and never returned, and Tommy was asleep, but not waking up. It was confusing, especially for a one-year-old.
~*A Dire Situation*~
"Ay-yi-yi-yi!" Alpha panicked as he watched the Rangers via the viewing globe. "Four of the Rangers are under Dramole's spell."
"There is very little we can do to help them, Alpha," Zordon said.
Ellis looked up as Zordon's voice boomed, and then he looked back down at his toys. From the corner of his eye he saw movement and looked around to see what it was. At only a year old he was more curious than a kitten, and anything that moved caught his attention. It was a trait the worried his family, as they had to be for lives with him.
"Tomme," Ellis yelped, pointing at the green Ranger.
Lana looked around quickly and gasped. Tommy was hovering over the table that had been lying on. There were green tendrils of energy around the crown of his head, and the more Lana stared, the fizzled tendrils of energy covered the teenager's entire body.
"What's happening to him, Zordon?" Lana asked as Tommy was set up right. She rushed forward to grab him but stepped back as she was electrocuted. "Ow! What was that?"
"His entire body is electrically charged," Alpha said, running a scanner over the green Ranger.
"When he reached into the force field around the power coins, he must have absorbed it's energy. The overload should wear off soon," Zordon explained.
"Affirmative, Zordon," Alpha said as the energy surrounding Tommy disappeared and he stumbled. Lana caught him and held him steady, until he was able to stand on his own.
"Tommy, you're back," Lana said, smiling.
"What happened?" Tommy asked.
"The energy from the force field has restored your powers," Zordon said.
"How do you feel?" Lana asked, concern written across her face.
"I'm really angry," Tommy replied. "My friends are in danger. I've got to do something about it."
"Then take this," Lana said, taking the Dragon power coin from her back pocket.
"I'm morphin' out of here," Tommy said, taking the coin. "I'll help Kim and the others. Then I'm going after Chris."
"Be careful," Lana said. "I extend the same warning to you as I did the others. Chris will do everything to get inside your head; he'll try and use Nuala against you. Don't believe a word he says."
Tommy nodded and squeezed her shoulder. "Believe me, Lana, there is nothing you could tell me about Nuala that would cause me to look at her any different," he said.
"That's good to know," Lana said. "Now go, and -"
"I will," Tommy said, smiling. "It's morphin' time - Dragonzord!"
~*A Dire Situation*~
After reaching the scene in time to save Kim from the others, and in turn release the others from Dramole's spell, Tommy summoned the Dragonzord as the monster grew to thirty feet.
"Come on, guys," said Jason, scrambling to his feet. "We need Dino Zord power, now!"
"Alright!" Kim and Trini said as the dino Zords trampled into view. It was a strange sight to not see the Dire Wolf Zord amongst the others, but both girls' knew that Nuala would be returned soon and things would hopefully have gone back to normal.
"Let's do it!" Zack said, jumping up into his Mastodon. The others followed his lead and quickly combined to create the Megazord. The battle was slightly one-sided, despite there being one monster and two Megazords. Soon the Dramole monster had floored the power Megazord, leaving the dragonzord to stand alone.
"Tommy," Kim called. "We're down. We need time to reboot."
"Dragonzord's got you covered," Tommy replied. He raised the dragon dagger back to his lips and blew the fanfare again. Hearing the sound the dragonzord rose from the ground and charged at the monster. It swung its tail around, slashing at the Dramole monster twice and knocking it off of its feet.
"Not so fast!" shouted a familiar growl and seconds later the Megalosaurus Dinozord appeared.
Tommy growled at the sight of the gold Ranger. He remembered Lana telling him to not let anything Chris said about Nuala to get to him, but this battle was personal and Tommy already knew that Chris was going to pray on his worries and fears for Nuala.
"If it's the green knight," Chris said. "Come to save the silver damsel?"
"Shut up, Chris," Tommy snapped. "Nothing you say can get to me. Just give us Nuala back."
Chris laughed. "So I'm just supposed to hand her over?" he asked. "You're mistaken if you think that's going to happen. I may not love or even care about her, but there's something about her... something that makes me enjoy what I put her through... something special."
"You're sick and twisted," Tommy growled. "Nuala is a person. A human being and you treat her like she's a play thing!"
"That's all she ever is and was to me," Chris said. "Maybe one day soon, you'll see why."
Tommy shook his head and raised his dagger once more. He commanded the dragonzord to attack, firing its missiles at the Megalosaurus Zord. They exploded, but Chris walked through them unscratched.
"Nice try, Greenie, but you're not getting rid of me that easily," Chris laughed. He pushed forward on his controls and targeted the dragonzord, leaving the Power Megazord open for an attack from the Dramole.
Rolling away from the attack, the Power Megazord made it back to their feet and glanced around at the Dragonzord.
"Let's up the stakes," Jason said.
"Yeah!" the others agreed.
"Megadragonzord power!" the five rangers commanded, and the two Megazords combined together.
"Back off!" Chris yelled, standing in front of the Dramole monster. "Take me on."
"We'll take you both out!" Jason shouted.
"Lock on," Every power source along the two combined Megazords glowed a vibrant orange as they powered up, "and fire!" the lasers fired, hitting the Megalosaurus and the Dramole monster.
Chris groaned as his Megazord hit the ground, landing on its side. Unfortunately, due to the small arms of his Zord, the Megalosaurus was unable to get back up, but the explosion had completely obliterated the Dramole.
"This isn't over, Rangers," Chris yelled, punching the disengage button on his console. "You'll never see your Nuala again. I'll make sure of it."
He disappeared.
~*A Dire Situation*~
Nuala looked up as the sound of a furious yell caught her attention outside the room. She couldn't hear the entire conversation but she did catch certain words like "blasted" and "power rangers" she could only assume that her friends had defeated Rita's newest monster.
She smiled and looked down at Ciaran again. He was drifted back into a state of unconscious, his communicator was still emitting the distress signal, but no one had picked it up yet. Either the signal hadn't reached the command centre yet or something was wrong and Alpha was unable to locate the signal.
Ciaran was looking a little more worse for wear now. The blood had stopped seeping from his wounds and was starting to clot. His breathing was a lot more shallower, and Nuala feared that there may have been internal damage. If there was then she needed to get her brother back to Earth as soon as possible.
"Just hold on a little longer, Ci," Nuala whispered, brushing his fringe aside. She sighed and looked around the room; there was nothing of value that she could use to help her brother. The room was basically bare, save for a bed. "Come on, guys."
Ciaran shifted in his sister's arms causing Nuala to soothe him. It was almost like she was cradling Ellis before bed. Nuala closed her eyes at the thought of her son, she'd been gone nearly all day, and she missed him terribly. She knew that he was safe with her mother, but she also knew that'd he'd be wondering where she was.
Lowering her gaze once again to her brother, Nuala heaved another heavy sigh. "I am so sorry, Ci," she apologized. "This is all my fault. If I had just done as Chris had wanted, given him what he wanted, he would never have touched you." She leaned her head down, her chin touching her chest and her forehead pressed against her brother's. "I love you, Ci, I never meant for anything bad to ever happen to you."
As she whispered to her brother, Nuala failed to notice that her surroundings had changed.
Nuala screamed as a hand touched her shoulder. She pulled away and looked up, expecting to see Chris standing over her. She relaxed however, as she saw Tommy kneeling beside her, his hand hovering over her right shoulder. With a strangled sob, Nuala all but fell into Tommy's arms. Her own remained around Ciaran and Tommy wrapped his around her.
"Shh, it's OK," Tommy soothed, rubbing her back and arm. "It's OK, Nuala, you're OK."
"My mum?" Nuala asked through her tears.
"She's putting Ellis down for a nap," Tommy replied.
"He hurt him," Nuala said.
Tommy kissed the side of Nuala's head. "You have to let him go," he said. "He's not going far," he added as Nuala's arms tightened around her brother. "Alpha needs to check him over."
"He's not leaving...?" Nuala asked.
"He won't leave the command centre," Tommy promised.
Removing her arms from around her brother, Nuala allowed Jason and Zack to remove Ciaran from her arms. Once she was free Tommy moved aside and Billy took his place, seeing her new best friend at close range, Nuala buried her face in the crook of his neck as Billy wrapped his arms around her.
"He hurt you, didn't he?" Trini asked, kneeling beside the blue and silver Rangers. She brushed Nuala's hair aside and saw a pinkish coloured bruise on the side of her neck; she glanced at Billy and lightly touched the discoloration with the tip of her finger. Nuala hissed and pulled away. "Sorry," Trini apologized.
"How many more are there?" Kim asked.
Nuala hesitated, and then licked her lips and looked up at her friends. Her eyes were wet with tears. "There's four more on my throat," she answered. "I think there is more than one on my back, but I can't be sure."
"What happened?" Kim asked.
Billy looked away from Kim and down at Nuala. She was staring at her hands; there were faint pinkish bruises around them as well. Carefully, as not to hurt or startle her, Billy wound his fingers across her palm and squeezed. "It's OK," he said, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "You don't have to tell us now."
Nuala smiled, thankful that she didn't have to relive what Chris had put she and Ciaran through in the last few hours. But there was something that she wanted to do, something that she felt she needed to make her feel more safe. "I want to see him," she said. "I want to see my son."
"I'll go get your mum," Kim said, walking away.
Trini smiled, squeezed her friends shoulder and stood up, leaving Nuala and Billy alone.
"Other than the bruises," Billy said, tracing his fingers lightly over the discoloration on her wrists. "He didn't... hurt you or touch you?"
Nuala shook her head. "He wanted too," she whispered, her voice breaking. "But I told him no... That's why he went after Ciaran. Ciaran's beating was my punishment for refusing. He's hurt because of me."
"It's not your fault," Billy said, hugging her tighter. He made sure to not squeeze her, if there was bruising over her back then he didn't want to hurt her any more than she already was. "Ciaran will understand, and he won't blame you. You'll get through this, Nuala; we'll get through this together."
Nuala forced a smile and nuzzled herself closer to him. She felt safe with Billy, safer than she ever did with Chris.
Copyrighted ©
Once again, I am sorry for taking forever to update. But, I have missed you all.
Review, please?
Love you guys xoxo
Chapter written by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx
Chapter updated Saturday, October 04, 2014 at 22:41pm
