Disclaimer: I already said that. No, really!
Author's Notes: I tried to update the story as often as I
could. . .so if you're reading this, God Bless You ;) Don't
worry, I'm not abandoning the story. I'm just working on other
projects at the moment. Just remember to leave reviews--it'll
help let me know how I'm doing. The only thing I won't change is
the pairings. I like the pairings the way they are.
Like I promised, here are the standings so far. Some pairs are
tied, and I chose the pair with the higher factor to be the one
on the top. For example, it's currently tied between Cole and
Alyssa, and Rocky and Karone. Why go with Cole and Alyssa?
Because they placed third in the last challenge--so they get to
be third place, above Rocky and Karone.
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I've decided not to post rooming assignments. It takes up a
lot of room, and isn't really necessary. If you're interested in
who's rooming with whom, just e-mail me and I'll give you the
list.
There'll be some swear words in this chapter, but it's lines from
a movie, damnit! I hope you'll like that little tidbit I put in.
More author's notes on the bottom. Okay, read on.
Power Rangers Extreme Challenge
Episode six: Conquering Heights
By: stargazer_1017
"Hey, look over there! Isn't that awesome?" Kendall pointed out the Aloha Tower to Katie and Karone as they walked down Waikiki. "Should we go up there?" Kendall asked the other two girls.
Katie turned to Karone, who shrugged with a smile. "Sounds good to me," Katie said, turning back to Kendall.
[Katie: "Kendall, Karone, and I went shopping in Waikiki today."]
"What about our bags? I really don't want to carry it up with me," Karone said, scrunching up her face slightly. "It seems like a long way up."
Katie turned to the camera. "Hey, why don't you carry the bags?" she asked, obviously talking to the person behind the camera. Karone suddenly came into view. "Yeah, can you do that for us? It'd be a big favor," she asked. She frowned when a muffled reply came from the person behind the camera. "Why not?" she asked.
"Why don't you stay here? We'll take the camera and take those shots for you," Kendall said, also coming into view. The other two girls nodded enthusiastically.
[Karone: "We ended up winning. Luckily the camera man was just a rookie and was scared."]
"Wow, this camera's awesome!" Kendall grinned as she swung the camera around. The girls were now at the top of the tower, overlooking the waters below. She focused on Karone. "Smile, Karone!" she said.
Karone grinned at the camera, and then turned around, as if modeling. "All right, go girl!" Kendall cheered her friend on. Then she swung the camera to Katie, who was looking into the distance. "Wanna pose for the camera too, Katie?" Kendall asked.
Katie didn't answer. She kept her focus ahead of her, her face pensive. "Katie?" Kendall tried again. She lowered the camera down slightly, and turned to Karone, who shrugged. Karone walked forward and put her hand on Katie's shoulder, startling her slightly. "Hey, are you all right?" Karone asked quietly.
Katie nodded. "I'm okay," she replied, although she sounded anything but okay.
[Katie: "It's about the third time in a row that Jen's blew me off when I asked her to hang out with me."]
***
Dana walked into the villa she shared with the other group 1 members and raised her eyebrows at the sounds she was hearing. She walked into the small living room and walked up to Kendrix, who was watching the tv. Then Dana looked on the large tv screen and saw Leo, Damon, and Joel playing a video game. "A Playstation?" Dana asked.
Kendrix shrugged as Leo turned around, grinning. "Yeah! Man, this is so cool!" he said, excited as a little boy. Damon also turned around. "If we had time to stay on Earth when we came the last time, we should've played these games. I mean, wow! Graphics!" he said, jumping up and down on his seat.
Dana turned to Kendrix, who was smiling and rolling her eyes at the same time. Kendrix playfully slapped Joel on the arm. "Were you the one who set them up to this, Joel?" she demanded.
Joel shrugged. "I only bought this yesterday, and these two little kids wanted to know what it was all about, so we took it out and set it up." Dana rolled her eyes at the comment. Then she turned around and saw Alyssa, Taylor, and Mike sitting down around a little table. She walked up to them. "Hey guys, mind if I join you?" she asked.
Alyssa gave a smile. "Not at all," she replied. Dana smiled and took a seat. "So, what's up?" she asked.
Taylor shrugged. "Nothing much. Just waiting for the next mission."
[Taylor: "It's been about three days since the last mission. A lot of us are just waiting around for when our communicators or morphers will ring with the news of a mission coming up, or just hanging out."]
"I know," Dana replied, shaking her head. "It's felt like forever since that rescue mission, huh?"
[Dana: "Leo and I were lucky enough to make it into third place and pulled ourselves up the ranks. I don't know if we'll have that chance again."]
Mike shrugged. "I'm not worried about the mission." He turned to Taylor. "We can get through anything together," he said confidently. Taylor smiled at him and put her hand on his hand, which was laying on the table. Then she jumped when Leo howled loudly.
The four at the table turned to look at the gamers, who were jumping up and down. "We won, we won!" Leo was yelling, giving his friends a high-five. Kendrix turned around to look at the four at the table. She laughed. "They won!" she said, shrugging. Dana, Alyssa, Taylor, and Mike laughed. The the phone in the house rang and Kendrix went off to answer it. Taylor rolled her eyes and turned back to Mike. "Is your brother always this enthusiastic?" she asked Mike.
Mike nodded. "Always. Why did you think I wanted to kill him a couple of times now?" he asked. Taylor laughed at the joke.
Just then, Kendrix came up to the four. "Hey Alyssa, there's a phone call for you," she said. Alyssa frowned slightly as she got up to go to the phone.
[Alyssa: "I didn't know what to expect. I don't know why anyone would try to get in contact with me here."]
"Hello?" Alyssa asked, answering the phone. Her face took on a look of confusion and surprise as she had a conversation with the other person on the other line.
Taylor watched from her seat. She turned briefly to look at Mike, and then when she saw Alyssa's expression change to horror and shock, she got up quickly and walked over to her. "Alyssa, what's going on?" she asked quietly, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder.
Alyssa put down the phone slowly and turned to Taylor. "My father--he's been in an accident," she whispered.
Taylor frowned. "An accident. Will he be all right? I mean, how serious is it?"
Alyssa shook her head. "That was my aunt, on the phone just now. She said that maybe I should come home."
[Alyssa: "I don't know what to do."]
***
Leo was rewinding a tape on the VCR with a tape recorder in hand when Kim walked into the living room. "Hey Leo, what movie are ya watching?" she asked, curious. Leo stopped the tape and smiled. "We're going to play a joke on someone."
"We?"
Leo nodded. "If we get in trouble, it's all Rocky's idea," he said, playing the tape. Kim watched the screen and saw a part of the movie from "A Few Good Men."
[Kim: "I don't know what the heck's going on here."]
"And what are you guys going to do?" Kim asked. She moved closer to the couch.
Just then, Rocky and Karone walked into the room, Rocky grinning ear to ear. "What the heck are you guys going to do?" Kim demanded, putting her hands on her hips.
"We're going to play a little joke on Mike," Rocky replied, still grinning.
"With 'A Few Good Men'?"
Rocky nodded enthusiastically. "Hey, it was all Leo's idea."
Leo turned around suddenly. "No way, it was your idea, Rocky."
"But you were the one who suggested Mike as the butt of the joke!"
Kim shook her head. "I'm not going to be a part of this," she said, putting her hands and turning to walk away. Rocky ran up to her and stopped her from going anywhere. "Come on, Kim. You'll like this, I promise. It'll be fun!" he exclaimed. Kim raised an eyebrow and then turned to Karone. "You're taking part in this too?" she asked.
Karone shrugged. "It sounds fun. I mean, I've never seen a practical joke being played on Mike before." Kim sighed. "And how are you going to do this? What are you guys doing exactly?"
Leo held up the tape recorder and grinned. "We're going to play this over the phone. It'll be like Mike having a conversation with the characters from the movie."
"And who's idea was this again. .. "
"Actually, it was Joel's idea to have something like this. He said he saw it on a tv show once," Rocky said, shrugging.
[Leo: "And now for the practical joke on my big bro."]
"Hello?" came Mike's voice over the speakerphone. Rocky was already trying to hold a laugh inside and Leo was smiling as he pressed the button on the tape recorder.
"This is Colonel Nathan Jessep at Guantanamo base, Cuba," came the voice over the recorder.
"Yes, sir," Mike replied. Leo stiffled a laugh.
[Leo: "I could tell that Mike had already gone to
attention."]
[Karone: Laughing. "At ease, soldier. At ease!"]
"Who the fuck is PFC William T. Santiago?"
"Sir?" Mike asked questiongly. Leo played the tape again. "He's that bad, huh?" came the voice again on the recorder.
"He's bad at what, Colonel? Sir, I don't understand what you're saying."
"This is Colonel Nathan Jessep at Guantanamo base, Cuba."
"Yes, sir, I know that already! What do you want Colonel?" Mike was starting to sound agitated. The others heard Taylor's voice in the distance. "Who is that, Mike?" her voice said. "I don't know! It's some colonel from Cuba, or something!" he said, trying not to sound frantic.
Kim covered her mouth to stop her giggle from escaping. She put her other hand on Karone's shoulder and Karone turned to her, also trying to stiffle her giggle.
"Wait, I've got a better idea."
Mike sighed on the other end. "What is it, sir," he asked. His voice was starting to get agitated. Rocky closed his eyes and clamped his mouth shut. He stamped his foot a couple of times on the floor.
"Tom! Get me the President on the phone. We're surrendering our position in Cuba."
"Huh? What the--"
"Don't ever question my orders in front of another officer."
Mike sighed. "Sir, I'm not--"
"I don't give a shit."
". . .Okay. . ."
"You have to ask me nicely. "
"Yes, sir. What's--"
"You want answers?"
Kim listed closely and heard Mike mutter a "Finally" under his breath. Then he said, "Yes, sir, that's all I want."
"You want answers?!"
"Yes sir!"
"You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!"
"Aaaahhh!" Rocky burst out laughing at the point, followed by Leo, Karone, and Kim. Leo was laughing so hard, he was pounding his fist on the counter.
"What the hell. . .LEO!" Mike's voice roared on the phone. That made Kim, Karone, and Rocky laugh even louder. "Taylor, are you laughing at me?"
Kim leaned in closer to the phone and listened. She laughed and said, "Hey, even Taylor's laughing!"
"I'm going to kill you, Leo," Mike's voice growled on the other line. All of sudden, the line went dead. Everyone stopped laughing and each looked frantically at each other. "Run for your lives!" Leo yelled, and all four scrambled away.
***
"So. . .what are you going to do?" Cole asked gently. He and Alyssa were standing outside Group Two's villa, discussing their situation.
Alyssa shook her head. "I don't know."
[Alyssa: "One of the reasons I wanted to stay is Cole. I. . .really want to help him win this. We have come so far, and to let Cole down would be such a disappointment--for me and for him."]
Cole watched Alyssa for a moment and then said, "If it's about me, you don't have to stay for that reason. Your father needs you," he said gently. Alyssa turned to him and he gave her a smile of reassurance.
[Cole: "I think Alyssa's staying because maybe she doesn't want to disappoint me, or she thinks she'll be doing so if she leaves."]
"But what about the competition? If I leave and there's a mission, we'll be disqualified. And we've gotten so far already. . ." Alyssa started but Cole put his hand up. "Alyssa, the competition doesn't really matter to me. I just like being here with you," he said.
"Really?" Alyssa asked as she raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Cole nodded. "Really. Getting to know you has been one of the best things of this trip."
[Alyssa: "Whoa. . .is he saying. . .what I think he's saying?" She pauses for a moment and then shakes her head. "Nah, he just looks at me as a friend. He couldn't possibly return the feelings. . .could he?"]
Alyssa watched Cole for a moment and smiled at him. "Thanks Cole. You don't know how much that meant to me," she said quietly. Cole smiled back at her gave her a reassuring glance. "We'll figure out a way. We'll get through this," he said, determinely.
***
"Finally," Carter muttered. He had his left hand up and Dana was right next to him, listening in.
"Yeah, word just came in," Joel said over the morpher. "It'll be at Five o'clock in the afternoon today. They said 'I hope you're not afraid of heights'."
[Carter: "After four days of not having a
mission, we've finally received word of one."]
[Dana: "Heights? It sounds like we'll be going to the
mountains. . .or jumping out of a plane? I don't know. .
.nothing's certain here."]
"What do you think the mission is," Dana asked Carter after they broke off contact with Joel. Carter shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "Are you worried?"
Dana shook her head. "Nah, I think Leo and I can handle it."
[Carter: "I wish that I was partnered up with Dana. Out of all the people here, she's the person I'm closest to. I mean, Jen's a great partner and she can keep her focus on the mission when we're going through it, but in a way, she's like a stranger."]
Carter smiled. "Come on, let's head to the dining hall for lunch," he said.
***
"Heights?" Trini asked uncertainly as she took a sip of water. They were seated at a table, having lunch. "What do you suppose that means?"
[Trini: "I have a fear of heights. If it's not something that's really high, then I'll probably be able to pass the mission, but if not. . ."]
Kim and Jason exchanged a look. "I'm sure it's not nothing that drastic," Kim said, trying to comfort her friend.
[Kim: "This may be a problem for Trini and Jason."]
Trini was shaking her head. "I don't know. . .I don't think they'd call it extreme challenge for nothing," she said, looking up at her two friends. Jason reached over and put his hand on Trini's shoulder and tried to comfort her. Kim gave her a friend a sympathetic glance. Just then, Tommy came over and put his hand on Kim's shoulder. "Hey Kim, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked.
Kim looked up at him and nodded. "Excuse me," she said to Jason and Trini who nodded at her. They watched as Tommy and Kim stood a few feet away and Tommy said something quietly to Kim. Kim nodded a couple of times to what he was saying and after a minute, she came back to the table. "I'll see you guys later, all right?" she said.
Trini looked confused. "Where are you going?"
"I'll be gone for awhile," Kim said.
"But you're going to be back in time for the mission, aren't you?" Jason asked. Kim nodded at him. "Wouldn't miss it," she replied, revealing nothing else. Then she walked up to Tommy and they went out of the dining hall.
Unknowingly to them, Kat was watching a couple of feet away. She was seated at a table with Angela, Karone, Dana, and Carter, who were busy talking to each other. Kat gave an agitated sigh and started crumpling the napkin in front of her. Karone noticed this and turned away from the conversation she was having with Carter and Dana. "Kat, you okay?" she asked.
[Karone: "Kat seems a bit agitated lately. Everytime we see Kim, she scowls at her. It's kinda unnerving to see."]
Kat suddenly got up from the table and muttered, "I can't take this." Angela and Dana frowned as they watched her walk away. "What's going on?" Angela asked. Dana shook her head, not responding.
[Kat: "This has been a second day in a row that Tommy has not told me where he and Kim have been going."]
***
"Oh my gosh," Ashley said, gazing upwards. "It's a mountain!"
[Andros: "We arrive there, and we find ourselves facing a tall mountain. Not as high as I've heard Mount Everest is, but I have a feeling it'll feel that tall."]
T.J. jumped out of another van and he and Kai walked in front of the crowd of rangers who had gathered at the foot of the mountain. "Welcome all," he greeted them with a smile. "Can you guess what your next mission is?"
Trini looked up the mountainside, where there were two ropes hanging down from the top, and markers alongside very steep pathways.
"Your next mission is a climb up the mountain," T.J. continued. Jason turned to Trini and saw her slightly horrified expression as she stared at the mountain.
"Each team will climb the mountain and reach as many markers along the side. This is a timed event," Kai said. "The competition will last for two minutes at each interval. It will be a group 1 member against a group 2 member, and then their partners will go and do the same thing--we'll tally up the number of markers each member touches and the end count will stand for each pairing."
"We'll start with the men from each pairing, and then go to the ladies," T.J. said. "You have five minutes to confer with your partner about your plan, if any, although I don't see how you can plan a strategy with this."
[Joel: "You can either climb the mountain or not."]
Jason pulled Trini aside after the hosts finished talking with the group. "You okay, Trini?" he asked. Trini shut her eyes tightly. "Jase, I don't know if I can do this," she said quietly. Jason pulled Trini in a hug and tried to comfort her.
[Jason: "I don't know if she'll be able to go through with the mission."]
"It's okay, Trini," Jason said and pulled away. "You still want to go through with this? I mean, do you want to try the mission out?"
[Trini: "I wanted to say yes. . .I wanted to do this for Jason because we were falling down the scoreboard fast, and if I didn't do this, we would definitely have a good chance of going home."]
Trini looked up the mountain again, and then back at Jason. She bit her lip and then slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry, Jason, I can't do this." Jason nodded with understanding. "It's okay, Trini. I'll just go do my part, and you stay put," he said.
[Trini: "If it was saving someone, maybe I'd be able to do it, if someone's life was in danger. But this is just a game--it's for money."]
"Jason, I feel really bad about this," Trini said, her expression reflecting her emotions. Jason just shook his head. "Hey, it's okay, don't worry about it. I totally understand," he told her. He smiled. "Okay? Don't worry."
[Kat: "I had so much energy in me today."]
"You okay, Kat?" Angela said, coming up to Kat. Kat, who was looking up the mountainside, turned to look at Angela. "I'm fine," she said.
Angela looked concerned. "It's just that when we were eating lunch, you seemed kinda. . .upset."
Kat smiled at her friend. She reached over and gave her a hug. "Thanks, Angela, for being so concerned about me. I'm fine, really." She looked up at the mountain again. "And I'm focused and ready to do this mission."
"All right everybody, gather around," Kai suddenly called out. All the rangers gathered around him in a semi-circle, eagerly anticipating details. "We'll start of with Taylor from Group 2 and Katie from Group 1."
[Cassie: "Finally, they're putting them first."]
"Good luck, flygirl," Mike told Taylor as he, Taylor, Katie, and Damon were being strapped into some safety gear. Taylor nodded and gave him a hug. "You too, solider boy," she said as she stepped up to the foot of the mountain along with Katie. Katie reached across and shook her hand.
"On your marks. . .get set. . .go!"
With that, they started climbing up the mountain. The others watched as the two women hit the first marker at the same time and climbed slowly up to the next one.
[Damon: "Finally. A challenge that Katie can use her strength in!"]
Taylor was climbing up the mountain slowly, but Katie obviously was having an easier time getting up. Before Taylor could hit the third marker, Katie was already heading for the sixth. After a couple of seconds later, the whistle blew. Both women glided to the ground. "All right, ladies good job! Katie has gotten six markers while Taylor got three," T.J. announced. "Come on men get ready!" Soon Mike and Damon were climbing up the mountain.
[Mike: "Climbing the mountain reminded me of when I fell into the crevice at Miranoi."]
"Come on Mike, go for it!" Taylor was yelling from the ground. "You can do it!"
[Mike: "Maybe it's like my second chance at making up for that."]
The whistle blew and T.J. announced, "Good job, guys. All right, in all Taylor and Mike got seven markers. Damon and Katie got eight markers." The crowd applauded. "All right, the next group is Andros and Ashley from Group 2, and Jason from Group 1."
"Since Trini has announced she will not partcipate in this mission, we'll let the men go first," Kai said.
"Hey! That means everyone's going to have their attention on me!" Ashley said. Everyone laughed at her comment.
Trini walked up to Jason as he was being suited up. "Good luck up there, Jase," she said, giving him a hug. Jason hugged her back. "Thanks, Trini."
"Ready, set, go!" With that, Jason and Andros climbed onto the mountainside quickly. Jason was having more progress than Andros and was at four markers when Andros was at the third."
[Trini: "I saw Jason going up the mountain. . .and I couldn't let him go on this alone."]
Trini went up to T.J. and Kai, who were watching the progress of the men. "Guys, I changed my mind. I'd like to give this a try," she said. T.J. had turned to her briefly with surprise all over his face and then he looked back up to take count. Kai grinned at her. "Sounds good to me," he said. Trini smiled with relief.
The whistle blew again and Jason and Andros sailed down to the ground. Trini ran up to her partner. "Jase, I'm going up."
Jason also had surprise written all over his face. "Are you sure, Trini. You don't have to if you--" Trini shook her head, stopping him from continuing. "I want to," she said firmly. Jason smiled at her and nodded.
[Trini: "I was fearing how it would go, but the least I could do was try it out. I couldn't let Jason down."]
"Good luck up there," Ashley told Trini as they were waiting for the whistle to be blown. "I'd hate to be going up there alone." Trini smiled back. "Glad to be here," she replied.
"Go!"
Both women climbed up, slowly up the mountain. The other rangers were cheering the two from the bottom. After the whistle was blown, both came down to the ground. "Andros and Ashley got six markers, while Jason and Trini got five," Kai announced and the crowd cheered for them loudly.
"Great job, Trini. I knew you could do it," Kim said, coming over to give her friend a hug. Trini grinned.
[Trini: "I got only up to two markers, but I tried my best. It was better than nothing."]
"Next we have Tommy and Kim from Group 1 and Max and Kat from Group 2!"
[Angela: "Uh oh."]
[Kim: "This is the first time I've actually gone up against
Kat in any competition. I didn't know how she was going to
react."]
"Good luck, Kat," Kim said, smiling at her as they waited on the bottom. Kat turned to her briefly and turned her attention back up the mountain. "You too," she replied softly.
When the whistle blew, both started their climb up the mountain--but Kat was gaining edge, and fast.
[Kat: "I had to show everyone, including myself, that I had the right to be here, be in the competition. I climbed up that mountain as fast as I could."]
Max was pumping his fist up and down on the ground. "All right, Kat! Give um all you got!" he cheered. Kim looked up and saw Kat about almost four markers past her--and she was one the third! Kim gritted her teeth and tried to climb up even faster. Just as Kat reached the seventh marker, the whistle blew. Kat leaned her head back and gave a sigh of relief. The she and Kim floated to the ground.
She was greeted with an enthusiastic Max at the bottom. "All right!" he said, giving her a huge hug. Kat was grinning ear to ear.
[Max: "That climb gave us a second chance to stay in this competition."]
Tommy gave Kim a hug also. "Good job, Kim," he said to his partner. Kim smiled, but her smiled seemed a bit forced. "I tried the best I could--" she started but Tommy cut her off. "Don't worry, we'll get this, all right? Don't worry about it," he assured her.
The whistle blew again and Tommy and Max were on the mountain now. Tommy and Max were neck and neck as they climbed and they both finished at the fifth marker.
Next, was Dana and Karone. Dana slipped at the third marker, and ended up on the ground. The whistle blew before she could climb back up to the second marker.
Leo and Rocky were talking on the way up on their climb. "How ya doing, Rocky?" Leo grunted, as they both reached the third marker.
Rocky turned to Leo briefly and grinned. "Fine," he grunted back to him. "You?"
"I'm good. Bet you can't make it to the top."
"I bet you can't either."
Kai rolled his eyes as he looked up. "Hey, less talking and more climbing!" he yelled up at them. "We are!" Leo and Rocky both responded back. Everyone on the ground laughed.
Kendrix and Wes went up next against Lucas and Nadira. Nadira kept grumbling about how the rocks were hurting her nails on her way up--and only got up to the second marker.
Wes was grinning at Lucas as they went up. "Looks like Nadira's nails got in the way," he joked to his friend as they climbed up. "Shut up," was Lucas' short reply as he climbed.
"Everyone's choosing really weird times to talk to each other," Carter remarked after he, Jen, Cole, and Alyssa got their gear on. He turned to Cole. "Are we going to be doing that too?" Soon both of them were climbing up the mountain--and both were talking. It appeared to be more of a disadvantage for Carter as he was lagging behind Cole.
[Cassie: "We've got to place high on this. We need the points."]
Cassie was matched up against Kendall as they went up and she quickly beat the woman by two markers. Danny paused at the bottom of the mountain, looking up. Adam frowned at him. "You okay?" he asked.
"I have a fear of heights too," Danny replied. "I don't know if I can handle this." Kendall listened in, standing not too far from them. She watched Danny look up at the mountain uncertainly and felt the urge to say something to him. Then a hand was on her shoulder. She turned and saw Cassie. "Cassie--"
"Help him, Kendall. I think he needs you," Cassie said softly.
[Kendall: "It was surprising to see Cassie do this for me. I mean, I heard about the fight she had with Alyssa, and I guess I expected something different from her. Looks like I was wrong."]
Kendall smiled at Cassie. "Thanks Cassie," she said, nodding. Cassie smiled back at her and nodded back. Kendall turned around and walked up to Danny. "Danny, are you all right?" she asked him softly.
Danny spun around, surprised to hear her voice. "Kendall--"
Kendall looked up at the mountain. "Have faith in yourself, Danny," she told him. "We can get through this together." She gave him a pat on the shoulder and smiled. Danny smiled back and nodded. "I'll do my best," he said.
"That's all I ask," Kendall replied. She squeezed his shoulder and then walked away so that they could start their climb.
[Danny: "I was glad that Kendall came to encourage me. I think that's what helped me get through the mission."]
Right after they got down, Joel and Angela were suited up. "Since Group 1 has an extra pair," Kai announced, "we'll have Joel and Angela go against each other to get their own points."
[Dana: "The married couple."]
[Karone: "They were so funny during the mission."]
"I bet I can beat you," Joel was yelling at Angela as they scaled the mountain. Angela growled at him. "Joel! We're supposed to be helping each other up! These are our points!"
"You mean this isn't motivating you?"
"No!"
Joel's face changed to a softer expression. "I'm sorry," he apologized. Then he held his hand out. Joel was clearly two markers away from Angela. "Then I'll wait for you till you get here," he said, his expression serious. Angela looked up at him and had to smile at the gesture. When the whistle blew and they were on the ground, the crowd choroused, "Aww. . ." Joel just waved his hand and rolled his eyes as he reached for Angela's hand.
[Angela: "This is why I married this man."]
"All right ladies and gentlemen, good job," Kai said. "We've got the results in. T.J.?"
"The most markers came from Group 2's pairing, Max and Kat!" T.J. announced. Max and Kat grinned at the crowd and gave each other a high-five. "Courtesy of Hilo Hattie, Hawaii, they have given you a check for a five-hundred dollar shopping spree in their store, as well as a paid trip to a neighbor island!" T.J. said, handing them their checks.
[Max: "This is awesome."]
[Kat: "A neighbor island? Hmm. . ."]
"Now, the new scoreboard will be shown after dinnertime, at which time the top three teams will again confer with each other and choose who to vote off," Kai said. "Good luck to all teams."
***
"It's great that your father regained consciousness," Cole remarked as he and Alyssa headed for the dining hall for dinner.
[Alyssa: "My father regained consciousness just this morning, but I'm still going to visit him. I'll be gone about a day and a half, and hopefully a mission won't come up then."]
"You'll call and let us know how he's doing, won't you?" Cole asked. Alyssa nodded and then leaned forward to give him a hug. Cole was surprised by the hug and when they pulled apart, he asked, "What was that for?" Alyssa smiled at him. "For being understanding. That's one of the things I love about you." Cole slowly smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulder as they headed for the line.
After dinner, Kai pulled down the blanket covering the scoreboard.
[Adam: "The scoreboard never stays the same. It shifted again greatly."]
"All right, as you can see, the top three groups in Group 1 are Tommy and Kim, Leo and Dana, and Carter and Jen," Kai announced. T.J. nodded and pointed to Group 2. "Group 2's top teams are Mike and Taylor, Wes and Kendrix, and Rocky and Karone."
[Cassie: "Cole and Alyssa were knocked out of the third spot again and Adam and I aren't so far behind. Maybe we'll catch up."]
***
"That didn't take too long," Kendall remarked as the top three pairs from each group went back to their original seats. Kai and T.J. called up group 1's top three and Jen spoke this time. "We've decided to go with Danny and Kendall," she announced. "I'm sorry guys. You did a great job, but we've decided to put you guys down as the pair to go."
[Danny: "I'm glad I participated in the
challenge. In a way, it helped me make up with Kendall."]
[Kendall: "I don't think I've ever met people like the ones
I've met here. I love them all."]
Kendall nodded from her spot and turned to Danny, who was sitting next to her. She reached for his hand on the table and gave it a squeeze.
Group 2 went onto the stage next and Karone announced, "We've decided to go with Andros and Ashley. This isn't a personal decision, it's just a part of the game."
[Ashley: "I guess since we were on the bottom, we were the better choice to go with.]
Everyone got up and started saying their farewells and goodbyes. Cassie went over to Andros and Ashley and gave them both huge hugs. Max shook Danny's hand and said, "We'll meet back at Animarium."
[Ashley: "It's hard to let go of the people you meet here--it's hard to say goodbye."]
***
"So I can take the next flight out? Great. . ." Alyssa said into the phone. "Thanks so much." She hung up the phone and wrote some more things on her notepad. She was standing near the small kitchen area of the villa for Group 2 and looked up when she saw Cassie enter.
[Alyssa: "Of all people to get stuck with, she walked in."]
Alyssa looked back down as quickly as she looked up and wrote some more things on the notepad in front of her. Cassie looked at her as she walked past--and then stopped. She turned around and sighed and walked back to Alyssa. "Hey, how's your dad doing?" she asked. Alyssa was surprised by the question. "He's fine," she replied, not giving anymore information.
Cassie nodded. "Good," she replied and turned around, not saying another word.
[Alyssa: "When Cassie talked to me, I thought she was going to apologize. She didn't."]
Alyssa watched as Cassie walked away.
[Alyssa: "Maybe one day we can talk about this like normal adults."]
***
"Did you hear about the nightmarchers?" Lucas asked, walking into the living room of Group 1's villa. He plopped down on the couch next to Katie, Max, and Nadira.
"What are nightmarchers?" Max asked.
"They're little creatures who walk the grounds of the Hawaiian Islands during the night," Lucas replied, holding up a book in his hand. "This book's got all the info."
Katie rolled her eyes. "Let me see that," she said, grabbing the book from him. Max looked slightly nervous as Katie skimmed through the material. "It says here that nightmarchers walk through designated lands in Hawaii, especially where there are lots of power."
"Power?" Nadira asked. "What kind of power?"
Katie shrugged. "It doesn't mention. . .hey, listen to this. It says no one has ever seen a nightmarcher and kept their sight. All people who have claimed to see them have all become blind." She whistled and looked up from the book. "Wow."
[Max: "I hate ghosts."]
"But. . .but they're not here, right?" Max asked, forcing a smile on his face. Everyone turned to him. Katie raised her eyebrow, a smile creeping on her face. She shrugged. "You never know. . ." she said, her voice trailing off.
********Next time on Power Rangers Extreme Challenge********
"Where are they going all the time?" Jason asked, watching as Kim and Tommy went off again right after lunch.
[Dana: "Everyday after lunch, Kim and Tommy go off somewhere we don't know about. He doesn't even tell Kat about it and it's obviously driving her nuts."]
"Where the hell are we going?" Joel demanded. All the rangers were being transported in a bus to an undisclosed location. The darkness of the night and no streetlights prevented the rangers from determining where they were headed to. Kai turned around, "We're headed to a haunted house," he said, smiling evilly.
[Max: "Haunted?"]
[Karone: "We've been divided up. Some of Group 1's members have been intermixed with Group 2's."]
"I'm your girlfriend!" Kat yelled. "You're supposed to be comforting me, not her!" she was telling Tommy as they stood in a completely dark room.
A tear ran down Nadira's face as she looked around. "I don't know if I can go through with this," she whispered into the camera that was attached to the gear she was holding.
"Cassie?" Mike said into the radio. "Cassie, come in!" He shook his head and looked at the others. "She's not responding."
Author's notes: If you can't tell from the preview, the next
episode will be like the MTV show Fear, another good MTV show.
It'd be so cool to see how rangers react to the ghosts and
unexplained events in Hawaii. They have a lot of good mythology
here. . .
I was thinking of making a site for the fanfic series, but I
don't have the time to put one up, so it might be put up after I
finish the series.
