A/N – Disclaimer in first chapter, or – if you'd like – on my bio page.

Chapter Six – Strength of Earth and Lightning

Part One - Strength Of Lightning

The next week passed by without incident. Since the building was being repaired, class was cancelled for the remainder of the week – not the two days as Chris had told them. Unfortunately for Weihan and Dani, it meant that they wouldn't see their team mates until Monday. The weekend passed by with surprisingly little happening, the only incident being Tommy locking himself out of his house and forgetting where he put the keys. Dani had finally gotten him back into the house by burning down his front door with her new power – Elemental Projection. Weihan wondered what the other elements would look like in their projected form, but mentally shook his head. That was a question to be answered when he had a FULL team. Monday rolled around quicker than expected, meaning that school (or at least TAFE) was back in full swing – or at least the rest of the campus was. The fourth floor of Building G was still under repair, but it was safe for classes. As Weihan and Dani walked out of the lift, they could see the damage that was still visibly evident – fire extinguishers ripped off the walls, jagged holes through the message boards and ripped up carpet. Weihan gulped as he saw the scope of the damage, his hand automatically going to his watch/communicator on his wrist. Dani saw the movement and squeezed his shoulder, whispering in his ear.

"Wei, it's going to be hard, but let's make the most of it."

Weihan nodded mutely, barely noticing the other lift doors open – spilling out more students including Nisha Gressieux, the girl with stronger Water Powers than Brett. She noticed the Rangers staring at the destruction, then walked up to them. Wei looked down at her and smiled weakly. He could see a lot of potential in the small girl, but was bound by the Rules of the Elemental Powers. Of course there was nothing to stop him giving her Brett's discarded Morpher, but he didn't feel right. Nisha smiled back, warmth evident in her voice.

"If you hadn't fought whatever they were, we would all be dead – so don't beat yourself up over it! Thank you for fighting them for us."

With those words, Nisha walked down the corridor towards their first class – ironically Bob's class. Weihan nodded and started down after her. In his heart, he knew she was right. If he hadn't gotten up and fought he would be in some alien dungeon or serving Evil, his classmates would be slaughtered, sold off as work slaves or some of the girls would be…he trailed off, shuddering at the thought. Never again would he allow that last scenario to happen, not even the "free samples" some species always got – most involving some form of foreplay. Laughter from behind him caused him to look over his shoulder, tensing for the worst. What he saw, however, brought some light into his otherwise dark and brooding heart. Dani was talking to two familiar figures – Matt and Cat and they were laughing at something. He smiled and then turned away from them, but was almost bowled off his feet by a sudden pain in his head. He dropped to his knees and snorted in pain as he tried to see who – or what – was contacting him.

Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my head?

Why Ranger, You should know. We forged a bond, remember?

He ground his teeth together in pain and fury. Death Xonix. He knew what the undead villain was talking about – the final battle on the Moon Palace when he was leading the Crystals and Ultras to stop the evil creature from awakening Grash'Nak. He had launched an all out psychic attack on the villain, but it had a nasty effect of leaving a very weak bond between the Ranger and the Warlord. As a result, Weihan had known that Xonix had survived the destruction of his fortress and had mutated into an undead form. He focused his thoughts on the mutant and growled back.

Not a very strong bond, Bone Head. What do you want?

Ah ha, it's always about what I want, is it? Very well, I will tell you what I want your powers, or I will kill the Blue Ranger in front of you!

And with an echoing cackle of insane laughter, the alien's voice retreated from his head – leaving the Orange Ranger kneeling on the floor in a cold sweat. He dimly heard voices calling his name and saw Dani and Cat kneel beside him, worry in their eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut and took in a sharp breath, wincing as the air-conditioned air chilled the moisture in his lungs. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a veritable crowd gathered around him. He pushed himself up, ignoring the protests from the crowd and motioned for Dani, Cat and Matt to follow him. He lead them into the lift and out of the building and to the library. Ascending the steps to the third floor, he walked into an unused study room and waited for them to sit. When they did, he shut the door and muttered something under his breath. A split second later, the edges of the door briefly glowed a dark red, startling the three people.

"Wei, what was that?"

He turned to the speaker – Cat and sighed. He smiled inwardly to himself. It wasn't everyday that you found out that one of your friends and Leader was also a mage.

"Just a silence spell. It will keep our conversation to ourselves."

As the word "spell" left his mouth, all three of them were upstanding. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then raised a hand for them to be quiet. Amazingly, for such brash personalities, the shut up immediately, staring at him like vultures circling over a fresh kill. Mentally berating himself for thinking about that, he faced the group, chewing his lower lip thoughtfully before speaking.

"I had no choice in whether I wanted to have magical abilities or not. With my crystal, it's the most powerful object in the entire universe – more potent than the fabled Great Power of Phaedos. Gave me one hell of a shock when I did find out I could cast spells, then it sort of mellowed out."

Dani looked at him and nodded to herself. While his outward appearance was of a stereotyped "Asian Geek", his inner personality shone through his eyes – showing a battle hardened warrior that was ready for anything, be it on the battlefield or in a classroom. But then, she was no stranger to arcane energies anyway – given the fact that she had pretty much blasted down Tommy's door without any effort. She looked over to Cat and Matt to see how they were dealing with his "confession". Matt was nodding silently to himself, his face set in a grim mask with his eyes determined. Cat, on the other hand, was smiling broadly at Weihan, her head excitedly bobbing up and down as she heard what the Orange Ranger had to say. Weihan turned around and stared out of the glass panes that separated them from the rest of the library. He took in a deep breath and sighed.

"What I have to say next isn't easy. You have two choices – two very important choices – that you have to make regarding the team. You were there, last week, when I told you of your inner power and gave you your Elemental Callers. You felt the rush of power as your reserves of power finally unlocked and became a permanent part of you. Now, the choice to leave the team wasn't yours entirely."

He faced them again, this time his attention was directed to Cat and Matt. The two of them sat, riveted, in their seats – wondering what would be said next.

"You were influenced by so many factors and problems – lifestyle, love and social problems. There was confusion in there as well. Confusion and anger. I brought you into this, that's very true, but here is the one fact I can tell you. You willingly accepted the morphers. You picked them up and they became yours."

He swiftly flicked his left hand, and with a flash of yellow and green, their Elemental Callers were in his hand. He placed them on the table and looked at Cat, staring into her eyes as if to see any strength in them. He took in another deep breath before speaking directly to her.

"Catherine Eldering, you have the power of Lightning inside you. As a result of that, you are very energetic in word and deed. The speed of light pulses through your body and it will make you swifter, more agile than you have ever been. As with Dani and the rest of the Elemental Rangers, you have the ability to project your element from your fingertips. To succeed – and I mean finally succeed – we will need your abilities on the side of Light."

He then shifted to Matt, leaving Cat silently dazed by what she had just heard the Ranger say. As with Cat, he spent a few seconds gazing into his eyes before speaking in a low tone.

"Matt Hall. The power of Earth flows in you, flowing like the sands of time. You are grounded to Earth and are stubborn in your decisions. You can command your element skilfully on the battlefield and not be knocked over by anyone or thing. Again, we will need the stabilising power of Earth on our side to win."

Weihan broke his hawk-like gaze on them and breathed in deeply. He motioned to the Elemental Callers on the table and nodded to Dani, suddenly too tired to speak. Dani nodded back and spoke softly to her friends.

"I won't say this will be easy. The Elemental Powers will come in handy in daily life, but the Ranger Powers are another thing entirely. The first morph unlocked your Elemental Powers – now they're a part of you always. The morphers will magnify those powers tenfold as well as giving you heightened senses and reflexes, as well as the armour you wore on the first battle. Now, we've laid it all out on the table for you – all you have to do is say yes or no."

Dani stopped and looked over her friends. Both Cat and Matt seemed to be in deep thought, but the most distressing was Wei. The Orange Ranger was rubbing his temples vigorously, glasses off and on the table and eyes closed. She could see his eyelids fluttering, orange light behind them. Suddenly, his eyes shot open, his glasses flying from their resting place to rest on his face, and his Ultra Crystal in his hand. She quickly shot a quick look outside, knowing that while they could not be heard, they still could be seen. Her fears were allayed as she saw that no one was looking in at them. Wei suddenly spoke, as if sensing their tension.

"No one can see in. I've placed a vision shield spell on us which will be handy very soon."

As if his words were a premonition, his watch/communicator beeped and instantly, the holographic screen popped up to show a young woman with red hair. Weihan's Ultra Crystal started glowing faintly as he gripped it tighter, responding to the distress call.

"What's up Hayley? Where's the problem?"

The woman on the tiny screen chewed on her lower lip before looking at him. Her voice was laced with confusion and tension.

"It's everywhere at once. Somehow Zeltrax – or Power Zeltrax – has found a way to retrieve the Tyrannodrone Project as well as the source code for the Triptoids. It's quiet in Reefside, but all the action's literally next door to you. We're detecting a vast amount of Tyrannodrones, Golems and Amorphids in your campus. Tommy and the rest should be there within a few minutes. Hang tight until then"

Weihan nodded grimly, the holo-screen fading away into nothingness. He snapped up to attention, still holding his Crystal tightly. He pressed his lips tightly together and sighed before addressing the Rangers before him.

"There's trouble. Cat, Matt – I don't know what you want to do. If you want to help, the Callers are yours. If you don't want to help, take the Callers anyway – they might help to save your life. Dani – let's do it."

With a quick flick of her writs, Dani's Elemental Caller appeared in a flash of fire. She opened her mind to the torrent of information and relaxed her body, closing her eyes and letting her Fire Power come to the surface. When her eyes snapped open, Cat and Matt saw the briefest flash of fire behind them and then they returned to normal. A scream from outside caused the two Rangers to go into overdrive. Bypassing the normal fancy movements, two quick morphing cries were heard issuing from the two active Rangers.

"ORANGE ULTRA POWER!"

"ELEMENTAL FIRE POWER!"

Two flashes of light later and the Orange Ultra Ranger stood tall next to the Elemental Fire Ranger. Cat hesitantly approached her Elemental Caller, looking at Dani's armour in awe and then picked the cylinder off the table, strapping it to her wrist. With a deep breath, she relaxed her body and allowed the Power Knowledge to flow through her. Her eyes opened as the Power told her of the quickest way to morph. Lightning crackled in the small room as she started her morph.

"ELEMENTAL LIGHTNING POWER!"

In a crackle of electricity, the Yellow Elemental Ranger stood tall and proud, small arcs of power running across the shiny surface of the armour. Matt sighed, picked up his Caller and slipped it in his pocket. He took in a deep breath, then addressed the three Rangers in front of him.

"I…I can't. Not yet. Maybe soon, but…it's a lot to swallow. You guys should go. I'll…think over it, but don't expect much".

Weihan nodded and then spoke to the two Elemental Rangers next to him.

"We'd better teleport there. This has to be our secret – no one knows who we are. If we run out, they'll put two and two together quickly. Let's go."

As all three disappeared in streams of light, the last thing they saw was Matt, his Elemental Caller out of his pocket, turning the cylinder over and over in his hands.

TBC…