Author's note: I'd just like to thank everyone for being so patient with me on this story. It is taking me far longer to complete than is usually my norm. This is down to my work schedule which is currently six days a week and roughly sixty hours of work. It is making it difficult to find time to work on the story as much as I'd like. I am determined to complete it and update it as quickly as I can. Thanks again for reading.
Jason glanced behind him as he stopped to catch his breath. He could hear the squawking of the Tenga's close behind him. He cursed between breaths and took in his surroundings. In an attempt at not being ambushed and overwhelmed he had run inland to find somewhere to hide and gather his bearings.
Jason noticed a cave to his left and more trees in every other direction. He found himself torn on which direction to go. A loud rustling behind him prompted a quick decision to duck into the cave.
He made it until the light from the outside could no longer penetrate the opening and then he abruptly stopped and turned on his heels to see if he was followed. He waited for only a few seconds before he saw a group of Putties go running by with Goldar close behind them. He didn't breathe until he was sure the last one had made it by.
Jason finally took a breath and straightened his posture. He glanced down at his suit once more, reliving the surprise of finding himself in it again, all over. He shook his head and closed his eyes. He could feel the gold power surging throughout his body. It felt more powerful than he had ever felt it. Also, it felt different somehow. He opened his eyes to see a crackle of red and black energy shoot up and down his wrists.
Jason backed up, confused at what he had just witnessed. His last step backward found nothing solid underneath him and before he could regain his balance he found himself falling backward at a high rate of speed. The ceiling of the cave got farther and farther away until his back impacted hard with the ground once again.
(****)
"Any lock on him at all?" Kimberly was hovering over the control panel in front of her. She still had no clue what she was looking at it but was awaiting some news expectantly.
"Not yet, but the area is narrowing even as we speak," Alpha answered.
"Good, the surge is leveling off," Trey added.
"We should morph and get ready to teleport," Tommy looked around at his fellow Rangers.
"Right," Kat agreed. "You should let Justin know."
Tommy nodded and went to raise his communicator just as the siren went off in the chamber.
"What now!?" Adam questioned.
"The Rangers are needed downtown, it is under attack," Zordon replied.
"Of course," Tommy responded, with a glance at Kim.
"What about Jason?" Tanya asked.
"We will continue to monitor here, but currently there is nothing we can do until we get a lock on him," Zordon stated. "In the meantime, you are needed in Angel Grove."
"Okay..." Tommy nodded in understanding. He looked at the group. "Let's make quick work of this and get back here."
Kim watched as the team teleported out, leaving the chamber in silence as she made eye contact with Trey. He had a worried look on his face and she walked over to him.
"What is it?" Kim inquired. He started to shake his head but the look he was getting from Kim suggested it wouldn't go over well.
"Listen..." Trey paused. "Time is of the utmost importance... the powers... he won't make it long."
"I don't understand... before he held the powers for months," Kim was the one shaking her head now.
"Yes, and his body never fully recovered," Trey replied. "Taking on the power in his weakened state..."
"How long?" Kim asked. Trey avoided eye contact with her. "How long?!"
"Maybe an earth hour, maybe a little more," Trey responded, the eye contact returning fleetingly.
Kim's knees felt weak. She did some quick math in her head to determine Jason had already held the powers for nearly half an hour. She retreated back to the console to lean on it for support. She turned up to Zordon.
"Zordon..." Her voice was quiet but it got his fully attention. "We have to do something."
"I know," Zordon replied. "Alpha move me to the grid."
"Zordon..." Alpha's tone was one of surprise. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Zordon replied. "It is our only choice at this point."
"Okay," Alpha replied before pushing some buttons on the console that caused Zordon to vanish.
"What is he doing?" Kim's eyes moved from the now empty tube to her robot friend.
"Searching," was Alpha's cryptic response.
(****)
Jason gasped in an attempt to regain his breath from both the shock and impact of the fall he had just experienced. He quickly got to his feet and glanced around him. Everything was pitch dark except for the small bit of light up above him where he could make out the hole he fell down.
Jason moved his arm out and summoned his Power Staff. It began to emit a soft gold glow that lit up the area around him. He was directly facing a rock wall. He turned around and was startled when the gold glow reflected off of a shiny metal surface. The shock caused him to momentarily deactivate the staff.
Before the gold could begin to fill the room again, it was instead replaced with an ominous red glow. Jason shook his head as he began to realize that what he feared he had seen was exactly that. Soon the source of the glow was obvious as his eyes fell on Lord Zedd standing in the center of the large expanse in front of him.
"Welcome," Zedd taunted. His voice as unpleasant as ever to Jason's ears. "Finster... some light please."
The room was slowly illuminated in a more traditional yellow glow from artificial light. Jason glanced around him at crude light structures lining the walls. He began to see all kinds of machines and other unsavory objects all around him.
"What is this place?" Jason found his voice.
"My home for now," Zedd answered.
"Our home," a voice came from an opening behind Zedd. Jason glanced beyond him to see Rita entering the room with a smirk on her face.
"You are gonna have to excuse me if I am a little confused at what is going on here," Jason stated.
"Well... Jason, let me fill you in," Zedd responded as Rita made her way to his side and handed him his staff. "You see we have a bit of proposition for you."
"Zedd... you know better," Jason shook his head.
"I'd hear him out," Rita replied with a shrug before she made her way toward Jason who raised his weapon in a gesture of warning. She raised her hands before walking over and sitting down in what appeared to be a makeshift throne.
"You see... I don't think this is an offer you can afford to refuse," Zedd continued. As he spoke, Jason was carefully studying his surroundings for a way out. "That is if you value your life."
Jason's attention was fully returned to Zedd. He cocked his head slightly.
"What are you talking about?" Jason inquired.
"Well... you know that those powers were killing you before," Zedd began to clarify.
"Right," Jason agreed as he moved a few steps out from the wall behind him, not liking how cornered he was.
"What I bet you don't know is that they are also killing you now," Zedd stated. "Not only are they killing you, but they are doing so at a rapid rate."
The word rapid made Jason suddenly very aware of his heartrate. It was elevated, much more than he had ever felt it in any battle situation.
"It's true," Rita chimed in from her place still sitting on her throne. Her smirk widening.
"I'd guess... from my research that you have maybe minutes to live at the most," Zedd added.
Jason shook his head even as his vision began to blur.
"I don't believe you!" Jason exclaimed, his frustration and fear growing.
"I mean... that is your choice, but I suspect by now you must be feeling it, correct?" Zedd countered. He studied Jason's body movements. He began to chuckle slightly. "Yeah... you can feel it."
"It takes months," Jason responded.
"When you were fully healthy," Zedd said. "Your body was still drained from having the powers before... that... and the energy from Maligore created quite the deadly mix inside of you."
"Maligore?" Jason's first instinct was not to believe anything he was hearing. The feeling overtaking his body was telling him otherwise.
"Oh yes..." Rita spoke up again. "His energy latched on to residual gold energy in your body and was feeding off of it like a wonderful little parasite."
The glee in Rita's tone was convincing enough to Jason to make him begin to understand the true gravity of his situation.
"I don't..." Jason paused as a wave of dizziness hit him. "What do you want from me?"
"You see... Finster here has been working overtime on a device that can save your life," Zedd replied as he walked over to the device and began to pat on it. Jason eyed the pod-shaped object and shook his head.
"Why would you save me?" Jason rightly questioned the motives of his archnemesis.
"That's the delicious part," Rita said as she rose and made her way to stand a few feet from Jason. "In order for us to save you... we need you to relinquish those golden powers."
"No," Jason immediately shook his head.
"Don't be a fool," Zedd chastised him as he gripped his staff tightly with both hands.
"I will never give you these powers," Jason reaffirmed his stance.
"Well you see... we expected that," Zedd stated. "So you may keep the powers."
"What?" Jason wrinkled his brow under his helmet in confusion.
"You see... the powers are useless without a host anyway," Zedd replied. "The Triforian has seen to that."
"So what are you offering then?" Jason questioned.
"You keep the powers," Zedd stated as he reached over and opened the pod next to him. "We however will control them."
There was a hush that fell over the room.
"Which means of course... we control you," Rita stated the obvious her smirk forming into a full malicious grin."
"I'd never do your bidding," Jason shook his head a put more comfortable distance between himself and Rita.
"Well... you see..." Zedd began. "Normally your will would be very resistant to any attempts to corrupt you..."
"But you already have evil inside of you now," Rita finished the thought for him, with a point at Jason's chest.
"With our magic, the energy from Maligore and the golden power... you would be all the army we would ever need," Zedd stated.
"Think about it Jason... but not too long... you don't have much time left," Rita taunted.
(****)
"Searching for what?" Kim questioned.
"Searching the power grid," Alpha replied.
"He is searching for any active energy isn't he?" Trey spoke up with a question directed at Alpha.
"Yes, he is checking to see if anything other than the Turbo powers are able to be activated," Alpha explained further. Kim shook her head.
"What does that mean?" Kim questioned just as Zordon materialized in his tube.
"Found them," Zordon announced to the room just as two streaks appeared at the far end of the room. Kim immediately took note of the colors of the streaks and her eyes widened as she saw Trini and Zack approaching her. She ran to embrace them.
"Kim!" Trini excitedly exclaimed as she wrapped her arms tightly around Kim even as she felt Zack's arms envelop them both.
"What is going on?" Zack asked as he glanced up at Zordon.
"We need your help, Jason is in dire trouble," Zordon reacted.
"What?!" Zack was shocked and alarmed at this news as he released the girls and moved closer to the control panel. Trini and Kim were close behind him.
"We used my powers to restore his health from an attack and he was captured," Trey began to explain as Zack noticed him for the first time. Zack began to respond.
"We don't have much time," Zordon chimed in. "I will explain everything later but for now just know we need your power coins."
"Our coins?" Trini asked.
"Yes... hold out your hands," Zordon instructed the former Rangers. Both did as directed and instantly their respective coins materialized in their palms.
"Unfortunately there is not enough reserve power in the grid to activate both," Zordon informed the group. "I will need to combine the two into one."
"Okay," Zack replied extending his hand closer to Trini's.
"Only one of you may take on the power," Zordon stated.
"Then let me?" Kimberly spoke up as she stepped forward. "Can we do that?"
"I can do it, Kim," Zack began to protest but the look he got from Trini suggested to him that maybe it was better not to.
"Zack... I have to be there for him now," Kim stated as she made eye contact with her friend. He saw the look she was giving him and nodded.
"Okay... yeah... if we can do that, let's do that," Zack said.
"Can we?" Kim looked up at Zordon.
"Yes, you will always have a connection to the Morphin Grid," Zordon responded. Just then the two coins in Zack and Trini's hands began to glow and then shot up in the air. They combined in a whir of black and yellow light before it the energy flowed rapidly in Kimberly's direction. The light changed to pink as it neared her. Kim closed her eyes as the energy began to flow through her once again.
(****)
"I will never let you control me," Jason stated firmly as the staff in his hands began to glow.
"Then you leave us with no choice," Zedd replied as he moved menacingly toward the Gold Ranger. He paused momentarily. "I'll put you in there myself."
Zedd moved to within striking range and Jason wasted no time planting a warning kick in the chest of his longtime foe. Zedd stopped his momentum and reached a hand down to his chest. He seemed surprised at the impact. He glanced over to Rita who nodded and raised her wand. She fired a beam at Jason who was able to deflect it with his staff.
He however was not ready for the swiftness of Zedd moving in on him again and found himself being lifted off the ground by the neck. Zedd effortlessly tossed him back up against the rock wall, prompting pieces of it to crumble next to Jason as he fell to his knees.
"Give it up, Ranger," Zedd taunted as he moved over and grabbed Jason's arm and flung him out into the center of the room, ever closer to the pod. Jason performed a quick roll and got to his feet. He opened his and called over his staff. It landed in his hand and began to glow.
"I will... bring down this whole place around us if I have to," Jason warned.
"Very well," Zedd said straightening his posture. He waved his hands and the view surrounding them changed. Jason soon realized they were located outside of the cave now. He searched for a way to escape his situation.
"If you are thinking about escaping... you might want to think again," Rita's voice emerged from the cave as she gestured above Jason. He glanced up to see an army of Tenga's encircling the treeline all around them. His eyes moved to the ground to see them similarly surrounded by putties, with Goldar in front of them directly behind Zedd.
"You see... you can't escape," Zedd explained. "I am perfectly willing to fight you for those powers... to your death."
Jason's mind was racing as he considered his options. He glanced behind Rita to see Finster leading a group of putties who were carrying the pod out to him. He fought a wave of dizziness and attempted to calm his heart rate as he could tell it was now dangerously high as his body fought off the power draining it of its lifeforce.
Jason fell to a knee, prompting a sinister chuckle from Zedd. He laid his staff on the ground in front of him and glanced down at his hands, the red and black energy crackling over them once more. He found the strength to glance up at his enemies. With a resolved nod he reached down and retrieved his staff and used it to help himself stand.
"To the death then," Jason stated. The words prompting Zedd's laugh to cease.
Jason fixed his gaze on Zedd.
"It's time for a gold rush!" Jason exclaimed as he raised his staff high and felt an incredible surge of energy flowing from him. He pointed the staff first at Zedd before quickly pivoting and directing the blast at the pod to his right.
"No!" Zedd screamed as he quickly raised his staff and fired a blast of energy in the same direction the golden power was now quickly pulsating toward. The two energy blasts met, and the gold one began to power its way past the red energy from Zedd. "Rita!"
Rita understood the call and she raised her own wand and added her own energy blast to the mix, a purple and black mixture that target only the golden light of Jason's energy.
It was a standstill now as the collective energy all worked together in a powerful test of strength. Goldar quickly moved and retrieved the pod just as the gold energy moved with inches of obliterating it.
"Clever move," Zedd exclaimed as all the parties lowered their weapons. Jason's shoulder's slumped as he felt the defeat come over him. He knew his best chance was to eliminate anyway for the transfer of power even if it meant his sure death. Now that chance had left as he watched Goldar disappear inside the cave with the pod in his arms.
Jason found the will to continue and moved to chase Goldar. He found himself being blasted hard in the back from a wave of energy by Zedd that caused him to tumble fast first in the dirt and gravel beneath his feet.
Jason grunted in both pain and frustration as he attempted to get to his feet. As he pressed his hands on the ground for leverage he momentarily felt the dirt in contact with his bare palms and glanced to see his suit flicker off and then back on. Just then everything went black for him.
"Bring it back out!" Zedd exclaimed as he placed a foot on the back of the prone Gold Ranger. He knocked the golden staff away from reach of his foe with his own staff. He watched as Goldar brought the pod back out and placed it on the ground in front of Jason.
Zedd handed Goldar his staff as he himself used both hands to reach down and pick up the fallen Ranger. He turned him to face him and moved over to the pod dropping him inside harshly.
"Finster!" Rita motioned for her henchman to come forward and activate the machine.
Jason heard voices as he struggled to open his eyes. They fluttered open just in time to see the clear lid to the pod being slammed closed by Goldar. Jason's mind told him to flee but his body had no energy to follow suit. He watched in horror as the inside of the chamber began to glow an ominous mix of black and red energy. He cried out just as everything went dark again.