SEQUEL TO: ORDINARY WORLD
SUMMARY: Several rangers assemble to infiltrate the island fortress to find answers, but at what expense to the rest of the team? And will it be enough if they now have to watch their backs regarding the psycho rangers?
DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. And it never will, but I guess there is a reason why I write these stories. So, I can get the pleasure to do whatever I want to our heroes. Not that it is a bad thing, I hope it isn't, but you know how it is.
A/N: So, this just get a little bit harder to fight for. How much? Read on and find out. I'll be cutting away soon enough, so enjoy what you can.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
"The only was we will be able to defeat Mindshatter is if we get into the fortress and take out every source of technology he could use against us. It is a risk we are gonna need to take if Earth will ever survive." -Eclyptyk Neo
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Early morning, Reefside.
Cam had dozed off for only a little bit when he heard footsteps echo from the stairs that lead to the main part of the house. He grumbled shaking the sleepiness out of his eyes and averted his attention back to the computer screen. He had been looking at three different sources with the same radiation, but had no idea if it linked up to Tommy, Trent or Andros in any way.
Let alone, he didn't want to go off and show that he was up all night trying to find anything. As much as Kim would come by in the early morning hours to see if he had found anything, he had always told her the same things. He was still working out the kinks left in the system and that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He never liked to worry her, and didn't want to add to it right now. Especially now.
"Hey, Cam," the voice of Kim echoed through the lab as the footsteps drew down the stairs.
"Hey, Kim. I see you finally got some much needed sleep," Cam commented, but didn't bother to look up from his work.
"I really don't see how you can spend all this time in front of a computer. Don't you just get out and enjoy the fresh air?" she asked as she made her way over to him.
Another set of footsteps followed, a little more bounce in them. And like always, Cam wasn't surprised to see Serena not too far behind wondering about any news regarding her ranger friends and father.
"Yeah, well, there's work that needs to be done. And with Hayley working long hours at the cafe and Billy up in Angel Grove, who else is gonna keep this systems in check?" Cam shrugged. He greeted the young girl, who took a seat beside him, with a gentle smile. "Hey, Serena. How are you?"
"I'm fine. So, when am I gonna meet your ninja friends, Cam?" she asked with an innocent plea in her eye.
"When your father permits it. You know we're really busy around this place..." he began but was cut off by the concern voice in Kim.
"Where is Tommy anyway? He said he had to do some work in the lab. But I didn't think it would take the whole night to do," she said as she looked around the room, hoping to find him somewhere hidden doing some repairs.
Cam shrugged. "I don't know. He wasn't in here when I got in. I figured he went out for an early morning run or something. You know how he can be about staying fit."
"Yeah I do," she sighed and looked back at the computer screen. "So, what have you been working on?"
"Not a whole lot. I'm afraid we're still looking to test those new weapons and gear, but I don't want to try anything until I know we got all of the kinks out of them. There have been a lot of problems lately."
"Have you heard anything from Billy yet?"
Cam shook his head, sadly. "Unfortunately, communications are still down and will remain down until I can establish a new connection. I think Mindshatter finally managed to disrupt any technology we, as rangers, use against our enemies. I even tried a distress call at low frequencies to both Angel Grove and Blue Bay Harbor and got nowhere."
"Well, I know you're trying, Cam. And we are grateful you decided to set up some time to help us out with this. Listen, if Tommy comes in through here, send him up. I'll have some breakfast cooked up if you're hungry in a bit." Kim turned and headed up the stairs.
Cam thanked her for the hospitality and went back to work. He heard the footsteps echo out of the room and back into the comfort of the house. He sighed quietly as he turned to the little figure sitting next to him. And according to the look in her eyes, he knew that she wanted to help out where she was needed.
And having a little genius like herself was a relief. Yet, he had questioned how she had managed to regain such knowledge considering the sorta background he knew about her father. But that was always something for another time. He needed her expertise as she pushed a few buttons on the console he had slid over to her.
"Three signal readings?" she questioned as she looked at the screen. Despite, her thick Filipino accent, she was still understood. And her English had quickly improved in nearly two months. "Brainwave patterns. But not sure who. Did something happen last night?"
Cam looked down at that face. And that's what he hated most. It was always a trait he loved to avoid even in his students at the Ninja School. The look of an innocent puppy-eye that could never be passed up to a lie. He knew he couldn't lie to her. And if he did, she had a way to pick it out of him much like Tommy could do to others.
"It's those psycho rangers. I don't know if your father told you who exactly they are and their capabilities, but they're bad news. Real bad. We managed to destroy one of them, but three still remain," Cam began to explain and when he looked down at the eager face of the young girl, he knew he had to say the rest to her. "And we ran into some problems. I got four of the space rangers resting in the sleeping quarters. They offered their assistance, but that included losing Andros, Trent and Tommy to Mindshatter. Now, he has them and I'm not sure what he plans to do with them."
Serena fell silent for a moment as she absorbed the information like a sponge. She couldn't believe it, nor wanted to. But when she looked back at the monitor display those energy readings, she felt her stomach sink. Tears began to welt in her eyes. "Daddy and brother captured?"
"I'm afraid so," Cam nodded slowly.
They heard footsteps from behind as the familiar face of Adam was strolling through the hidden door in the back of the lab. the one that lead down the hall to the sleeping quarters. Ethan was at his side, clearly whipping out his hands to get to work on this matter.
"Let's get to work," Adam stated as he clapped his hands together. "Let the others sleep. We'll call them in once we find something."
Ethan rubbed his hands together as he let out a breath. "I only hope I can pull in some of my magic to get something out of this."
"Well, let's go, Houdini," Adam patted him on a shoulder as he directed the teen in blue toward a computer located at the other end of the room.
Ethan took a seat and looked over the keyboard in front of him. Then he averted his eyes to the screen before him. Serena had walked up beside him, eyes still wet with tears. He looked down to see her face and had to admit he hated to see such sadness in her face. He had come to enjoy her company and never liked to see a sad face. "I'll do what I can, Serena. But we will find them, okay? Just don't tell your mom."
A good long hour passed before Ethan had really peeled his eyes away from the computer screen. During that time, Adam and Cam had tried to make their own lock on entering the fortress, undetected, using the three energy read-outs like a source. But they had not gotten anywhere either.
Ethan let out a breath and sighed deeply as he threw his head back to catch his breath. He had been working long and hard to try and search out the firewall around Mindshatter's security but found it nearly impenetrable.
"I quit. Either my skills as a computer genius/hacker have left me or Mindhshatter has put up more security than I've come to master," Ethan groaned. "He is smart for a guy that was made from a computer. Hasn't he ever heard of the Matrix?"
Serena tugged on his shirt. He leaned over to hear her whisper a line of codes into his ear. For awhile, he wasn't convinced they would work, each had some connection to Dr. Mercer and Dr. Oliver's line of dino DNA technology research. He began to enter it in. The readouts on the screen blinked the entry ways to available invisi-portals close to the lab and the Mercer homestead. He looked over at the little girl who only smiled back at him. She disappeared up the stairs to go get something to eat, leaving him alone to feel like an idiot for not thinking of that earlier.
"Um...I think I got something," Ethan scratched his head in confusion. Adam and Cam walked over to him to see what it was and noticed the line of entrances locked to another part of the island fortress. "I don't get it. Serena's been here for only two months and she seems to know the backhand of every little thing we try to figure out. Are you sure she's related to Dr. Oliver?"
Adam shrugged. "As far as I could tell." He looked over the readouts again as he shook his head. He swore he has never seen the corridors that these invisi-portals were linked to. "But I've never seen this part of the fortress before. I don't recognize the structure."
"Maybe that's a good thing," Cam said. He pointed at the hallways as they seemed to form a maze. He pushed a few keys to reveal the upper level of the fortress. "Do you see that? According to this, it seems those hallways are located underneath the actual fortress. How did Serena access them?"
"She began to name off codes labeled off of Dr. O's work with Dr. Mercer during their time on the island years ago. I thought those underground passages were sealed off when the island exploded the first time?"
Cam and Adam shrugged. They were never briefed on the work around the technology set by the two doctors of paleontology. They only knew that some of the experiments they were working on were apart of the ranger's line of equipment and weaponry. They never could find any other information regarding the work Dr. Oliver or Dr. Mercer had done on the island. They only knew that on that very island, where Mindshatter seemed to be crashing, was the original location for all the strange dino activity. And there was no one else to ask because even someone like Hayley didn't know everything about what went on there.
"Man, I wish this was one time I knew exactly what Tommy wasn't telling us about his past," Adam sighed.
Footsteps echoed through the lab as they turned to see the other rangers return from a good night's rest. They still looked a little out of it, but eager to get to work and rescue their comrades from Mindshatter.
Unfortunately, they were still working out some things to secure a lock on an invisi-portal that they could use to get in and out with ease. Then Cam had moved over to another table and pulled out a device. He began to push a few buttons, resetting the frequency of the device. Another one, with similar structures sat beside it. He walked over to TJ and Adam handing one over to each of them.
"Make it quick," Cam advised the team. "I don't know how long these things will last. The lock on the invisi-portal system hasn't been at its best since Andros blasted it. But it doesn't mean that they're no longer accessible."
TJ looked at the device in his hand, turning it over. "So, what exactly are these?"
"An invisi-trans locator. They'll lock on any invisi-portal located in the fortress and you'll be able to get in undetected. From there, you gotta figure things out on your own," Cam began to tell them. "However, you only got one chance. Once a portal is opened by the device it can't be re-opened again. We haven't been able to work around fixing that problem. So use it wisely, each one only has enough power to open up one portal before we need to recharge it again. You'd be surprised to know that it takes a lot of energy to open up an invisi-portal."
"So, to sum it up, we can only use these when we're sure our work is done there?" Ashley asked as the technical director nodded in turn.
"That's correct, Ashley," Cam nodded. "I mean, for the time being you're there. But I wouldn't be surprised if Mindshatter will figure out sooner or later what we're capable of doing. You're communications will only be limited to inside the fortress. I won't be able to help you."
TJ turned to look at the yellow space ranger. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, grasping it lightly. "Don't worry. By the time we use this thing we'll have Andros back. We'll have all three of them back."
Ashley nodded as she looked away. At times she would doubt those words, but with the number of rangers present, she didn't want to. And when she looked around the room, also seeing the hurt in the youngest yellow ranger, she moved beside her and showed her own set of sympathy for her loss. Though they hadn't gotten a whole lot of time to hang, Ashley had to admit she saw a lot of herself in Kira during her years as a teenager. Not quite the same way, but in enough ways.
"We'd better go now. If we're lucky, we'll be back by mid-morning before Kim realizes what really happened to Tommy and the others," Adam directed the team toward the door. "C'mon."
Cam sent them off with a 'good luck' and went back to working out the communication systems. He knew he would be useless to direct them through the fortress. A shield had guarded it and he couldn't do anything about it. And he hoped they could communicate to each other. He could only hope nothing else would surprise him or the rest of the rangers.
XXXXXXXXXX
Mindshatter sat in his throne as he watched the array of rangers walk into the darken woods from a viewscreen in the main lab. He thought for a moment before waving the image away.
"So, they have decided to come like I have thought. Let the battle begin between good ranger and evil ranger," he said mostly to himself.
The three psycho rangers looked like they were either sleeping or re-charging for the battle. When Mindshatter snapped his finger, they stirred and became alert to any command he wanted from them. Though, they had not been controlled by the dark soldier, they followed his orders in hopes it would bring them more chances to take out the rangers.
"Is it time to attack?" Psycho Red stepped forward, eager to get into battle.
Mindshatter held a hand out to the door as it opened. "I would like to introduce three more warriors to your side, my psycho friends." Three rangers entered the room, each holding a dark aura around their figure. The black DT ranger, the white DT ranger and the red space ranger. "They should be sufficient enough to believe the other rangers are the enemy and will destroy them with ease."
"What good are they? We could have destroyed them right along with the other rangers!" Psycho Yellow bellowed with anger as she walked over to the white DT ranger.
But as she approached, the white DT ranger had pulled out his drago sword and unleashed an attack on the approaching figure. With an effort to take him out, she landed on the floor before the two other dark rangers. Each drawing out their own weapons and pointing it at her. She slowly backpedaled in some fear, but stopped when Mindhsatter snapped again. The three dark rangers became still, lowering their weapons.
"They are completely under my command. They have but one soul purpose. To destroy the enemy. However, if they find anyone else a threat, like yourselves, they won't hesitate to destroy you as well," Mindshatter stated with a nod. He got off the chair and fell in line over the three dark rangers, the psycho ranger followed close behind him. "And by the time they realize what they have done, the other rangers will cease to exist or be on my side."
The psycho rangers exchanged a look, but didn't bother to ask anymore questions. They had more, but wouldn't bother. But it was clear they had doubted the plans. They weren't sure if Mindshatter was really dumb or if he never realized how strong the human spirit can be despite what evil would come their way. And they knew the rangers, especially the space and lost galaxy rangers, like no other. But they had been informed that seven rangers have been destroyed and only so few have their powers left. Once they could do away with these, the other set of rangers wouldn't be so much of a problem.
Mindshatter snapped a finger again as the three dark rangers bowed and left the room. The psycho rangers followed them knowing they would draw out their ranger friends.
Mindshatter smiled deviously to himself and fell back into the comfort of his chair. He flexed a hand to form a fist. "If this goes according to plan, none of the rangers will survive and I will collect any powers they have left and use it for my own purposes. No one will stand a chance against me."
Dinoshade had heard everything, but had not said anything or wanted to make his presence known as he moved against the shadows out of the room. He moved down a corridor, but came to a halt when we lost control of his hiding place coming to a halt before Mesogog. The mutant freak looked at him for some time, but didn't do or say anything.
Silence fell over the two dinosaurs as Mesogog finally held out a hand for the other being. Dinoshade took it in confusion. For awhile, he had been wavering, unsure what to make of the mutant freak. He knew, or thought he knew, that Mindshatter had disrupted his thoughts to make him look at the rangers as the enemy. That they were always the enemy, but the times they would run into each other in the halls it never seemed like that at all.
"You have been wavering over your loyalty, Dinoshade," Mesogog replied in a cool, calm voice.
Dinoshade had looked away and said nothing about the comment. For the most part, he didn't want to say anything at all to the mutant freak. He wasn't sure if he could trust him, nor understand what his real motives were. "Why should that be a concern for you? Shouldn't you be worried more about your own set of problems than mine?"
"If you told me, perhaps you really are more like me than you thought," the mutant freak replied with a bow.
Dinoshade looked at the mutant freak. At the dinosaur who had gone through so much torment, and somehow survived. He didn't know how, but almost thought him to be indestructible in his own light. He had to admit that he never had seen such devotion in him, mostly for his silence and protection over the rangers. And the sheer thought of self-sacrifice had made him re-think exactly what he was here to do. It was almost he had been shielded with lies and the time spent on Earth had opened him up for other things. Possibly to his own objective. Destroy Mindshatter.
Dinoshade turned away and headed up the hall. "You wouldn't understand. Let me deal with it."
The dino freak had watched his counterpart retire up the hall. And as he blinked, the last set of words Dinoshade had mentioned, played in his head. The hint of blue, of the real man underneath it all, had returned to his eyes. And in the moments that Anton managed to think for himself, he knew if he could convince Dinoshade otherwise, they could gain a new ally. One that they were in much need of.
Anton breathed slowly. "I understand that your primary goal is finally returning to you. Mindshatter must be destroyed."
XXXXXXXXXX
The ranger team had moved out into the forest, darken even at the morning hour by the towering trees above. They had set up a plan to split up into two groups, once they got into a fortress. One group would be set to find Andros, Tommy and Trent. The other group would try to get into the main lab and do some magic by destroying the equipment in there.
The team set out to find Andros and the others was made up of Conner, Kira, Ashley, Adam, and TJ. The other team was set to destroy the equipment, and hopefully lure the psycho rangers back to the lab and convert them to datacards again, and destroy them for good. But there was no guarantee. That team was made up of Ethan, Carlos, Cassie, Tanya, Rocky.
Without any words spoken, TJ had used the device he held to open up an invisi-portal. The entire array of rangers walked in and the portal shut behind them.
As they walked through the portal, they seemed to walk through a cut in time, finding themselves in a darken hall. The only light that seemed to come in was at the base of stairs that lead up. With a tap of shoulders and the glisten in each of their eyes, Team A had moved up the stairs first. Team B followed, and when they pulled the panel aside, Team A had went right and the other team went down the other way.
TJ had taken the lead for Team A while Conner had took up the rear. His eyes darted about in alert, always keeping an eye on behind them in hopes to avoid any surprise attacks from there. Despite the similar panels on the wall to get anyone lost in a maze of hallways, it didn't seem to stop them. The device was marked with a small readout of where they were in the fortress. They had melted against a wall, stopping short.
"Is it usually this quiet in an evil fortress?" Ashley asked in a whisper as she looked at her young successors.
"I don't like this. You would think they'd know we were here by now, right?" Conner said quietly.
"Well, how about we don't find out, and see how far we can get?" TJ looked back at his teammates and looked back up the hall. He knew he heard something there, and wasn't sure what it was. He waved a hand as they cautiously proceeded forward.
As they rounded the corner, they came to an abrupt stop, nearly crashing into each other. The three psycho rangers stood like a wall before them, arms crossed, eyes trained on their new sight and prize.
"Well, look who decided to come and rescue their friends," Psycho Blue sneered with a laugh. "You're a little too late."
TJ glared at his opposite as he took a step forward. "I doubt it. Where are they?"
"There's no need to tell you. You'll meet their fate or be destroyed," Psycho Red announced.
"So, they aren't dead," Conner thought for a moment. He looked down the hall and heard something down there. He wasn't sure what, but when he saw the laser arrows coming their way, it said enough. He threw Kira to the ground, just as the others followed. "Look out!"
The hall smoked up by the impact, but as it cleared, the Psycho Rangers had only moved up closer to the fallen and shaken team. Psycho Blue pulled TJ to his feet and threw him into the wall. Adam jumped to his feet and went to help him, but was stopped by Psycho Red.
"You're not going anywhere," Psycho Red announced.
Kira finally pulled herself back to her feet as Conner helped her up. But her eyes were squared on the distance down the hall. The smoke finally subsiding as she saw three figures move their way. She tapped Conner on the shoulder as he averted his eyes in the direction she looked. "Conner, do you see what I see?"
Conner let out a breath as he saw the weapons draw from the three figures coming their way. He nodded slowly as he slowly backed away. "That's not a good thing."
Ashley had stood by Adam's side, glaring at her aggressors. TJ was fighting to free the grip around the collar of his shirt. His own eyes trained with determined rage and fury on his opposite. But when he had looked away for only a second he saw the three approaching figures from down the hall.
The three figures pushed passed the clearing smoke and stood only feet away from Conner and Kira. Weapons still drawn and pointing right at them. Their aura seemed to reflect that of a mindless zombie, or a soul with one object. The thought that the rangers didn't want to face all over again. Their friends and teammates were transfixed to destroy. Evil.
Ashley turned to see the three rangers, the darkness and confusion around them. She slowly walked over to the red space ranger, but Conner held her back. "Andros?"
"You shouldn't have come. Not after what you've done to hurt me," Andros said simply, his voice leveled.
Ashley's eyes began to welt with tears as she pushed passed Conner toward him. But Andros had extended his spyro saber farther out stopping her again. Her eyes fell on the other two rangers to either side of him, the black DT ranger and the white DT ranger. "What's happened to you?"
"We know the truth now," Trent spoke up. He walked over to the frozen with fear and shock figures he once knew as his friends. "You betrayed us."
"We don't want to fight you," Conner managed to say despite his fear and confusion. He knew something was wrong when he had seen those laser arrows coming their way. But he wasn't quite sure what had happened with them. He wanted to know, but he didn't like that he may have to deal with some unsettled anger in his friends.
TJ had finally broke out of the lock Psycho Blue had on him as he nearly collapsed onto Adam. Team A were caught in the middle of a crossfire, and they knew they couldn't stand a chance. Except hold some protection if...
Adam flicked his wrists to reveal his zeonizers, and pulled them into the call of the zeo powers. "It's Morphin' Time!"
TJ and Ashley had exchanged a quick look before laying out their own morphing call for their space powers. "Let's Rocket!"
And then Conner and Kira followed suit, as their morphers changed. They launched their own morphing call. "Dino Thunder! Power Up!"
But nothing happened! As the light cleared from the red and yellow DT rangers, they had noticed their predecessors still stood there in their civilian form.
They exchanged a look as they melted into the wall.
"I think we have a problem," TJ said.
"What happened? Why can't you morph?" Conner breathed in fear.
The black DT ranger clapped his hands slowly. He let out a evil laugh as he shook his head. "I'd hate to break it to you, TJ, but your morphing energy has been fried. You can't morph."
"But we could?" Kira said in confusion. She shook her head. "Please, Dr. O, don't do this."
"It'll be easier so we don't have to see your face when you'll be destroyed," Psycho Yellow bellowed with a laugh.
"You can't do this..." Ashley protested.
"Shut up!" Andros growled. "How could you guys betray me like that!"
"What! Hey, Andros, you're not feeling like yourself..." TJ tired to say.
"We know the truth," Trent stated. His eyes centered on the red and yellow DT ranger. "And you two! I knew I should have destroyed you when I had the chance, Conner. And Kira... after everything, this is how you treat me..."
"What are you talking about?" Kira said. "Mindshatter filled your mind with lies, didn't he?"
Trent sprang forward to attack, but Conner was there to guard his teammate. But it didn't help. He came crashing to the ground, and Trent threw Kira against the wall. Adam tried to stop him, but Tommy threw him to the ground. And TJ and Ashley had already gone into battle with Andros, or at least try to avoid it. And it wasn't easy.
Adam groaned as he blocked off a few shots from his friend. He had to yell, just to make himself heard by his friend. "Tommy, stop! This is madness! I sense your confusion, T. Mindshatter did fill your head with lies. He's making you think we're..."
"I should have known you tried to take Kim away from me! You were tired of being lonely, and you knew we were having problems. So, you figure you could save me the trouble and take her for yourself. Didn't you? Didn't you, Adam?" Tommy spat as he threw a punch into Adam's face.
"What! That's a lie, Tommy. I would never do that. Snap out of it!" Adam stated as he blocked a shot, twisting his friend's wrist and laying out his own punch.
Tommy stumbled back as it gave Adam some time to catch his breath. But he was only picked up by Psycho Red. And the psycho rangers had joined the fight. The good rangers had to avoid hurting their friends, and refused to fight them, and had to deal with the psycho rangers. All while dealing with the fact that they couldn't morph, and only Conner and Kira had any real protection from big harm.
They could only hope that the other team hadn't run into a serious problem.
XXXXXXXXX
Team B had moved down the quiet corridor. And so far, they had gotten rather far without being detected. Or they hoped. They kept low to the ground as they continued down the hall.
Ethan had taken the front, using the invisi-trans locator to guide them through the winding corridors. They knew that Mindshatter was trying to throw them off with the similar markings all over the place, but the device had told them different. They were only a few meters from the main lab, and still no one in sight.
"Anyone have a bad feeling about this silence?" Rocky whispered as they stopped for a moment.
"Are you trying to jinx us?" Tanya smacked him on the shoulder as she looked behind her. No one was there.
"But it is too quiet," Cassie nodded.
"Maybe they're all in some re-charging chamber or something," Ethan shrugged. He looked at the small screen on the device. He waved them forward. "Only a few more meters. C'mon."
The continued on, but came to an abrupt stop when Ethan froze in place. A line of cybots lined the hall, blocking their way. It was a sea of cybots, on a silent march through the fortress. They registered the danger and pulled up their pistols, but hadn't fired. Just yet.
"Go back!" Carlos called out as he turned.
The rangers turned, but stopped again when they saw Mesogog standing there in front of their escape route. And when they looked at him, they weren't sure if he had plans to destroy them or help them. Mesogog snapped a finger and a swarm of Tyrannodrones assembled behind him.
"Huh? I thought they were destroyed!" Ethan breathed.
"Well, I"m not taking any chances," Rocky tapped Tanya's shoulder. He flicked his wrists to reveal his zeonizers and gave out his morphing call.
"It's Morphin' Time!" Rocky and Tanya said in unison.
Carlos and Cassie followed suit. "Let's rocket!"
Ethan shrugged to himself as he pulled his tricera morpher into place. "Dino Thunder! Power up!"
And as the light around Ethan cleared, he had noticed something wrong. His teammates were still standing there in their civilan form. The four rangers tried to link the powers again, but nothing. It was like a fraud. There morphers were no longer on line.
"Not good," Carlos breathed as he looked from the cybots to the mutant freak and his army.
Ethan shook his head. "No way. I can't be the only one..."
The cybots inched closer, clicking their pistols for rapid fire. The rangers fell into a fighter stance. Carlos, Tanya and Ethan faced the cybots. Rocky and Cassie turned to face Mesogog and his dino army.
When Mesogog snapped again, the T-drones advanced, and as the rangers were about to attack, the dino army moved passed them and into the sea of cybots. Laser fire rocketed through the hall, boucning like a ping pong. The rangers ducked to avoid the blow as they turned to look at Mesogog in confusion.
It fell silent as Carlos step forward, despite the battle going on behind them. He didn't know what to make of the mutant freak except as the dino freak blinked, the hint of blue fell over his eyes.
"Why are you helping..." Carlos began.
"Follow me, if you want to get out of here alive," Mesogog directed as he turned and headed up the hall.
The rangers exchanged a look as another line of laser fire echoed passed them.
"What do we got to lose?" Rocky sighed as he shrugged. He moved forward, following to catch up the dino freak.
The other rangers followed suit, never looking back to see how the progress was with the cybots and the t-drones. Their footsteps still continuing in a loud thump against the metal floor, had many things going through their minds. They weren't quite sure if they could trust Mesogog. Or was it Anton?
Ethan had told them that Mesogog did, in fact, save Tommy from annihilation from Zeltrax. He even stood up against Dinoshade to allow them to run when they had finally returned back to Reefside in 2005.
"Shouldn't we be going the other way?" Cassie called out. "I thought the main lab was that way."
"Mindshatter already knows you're in the fortress. It's only a matter of time before you fall into another one of his traps," the mutant freak replied, but sounded more like Anton than Mesogog.
"Dr. Mercer!" Ethan breathed. "Is that you?"
The mutant freak came to a halt as he pushed against the wall. He had stopped short to make sure no one was around. He quickly turned to look at the rangers assembled beside him. And it was more evident in his eyes, that the blue had broken through.
"You wouldn't believe me if it would happen any other way," the dino menace replied. "Your friends are in danger. Andros, Tommy and Trent's minds have all been altered by Mindshatter..."
"But don't you have mind control? That's how it stopped you from being controlled by Mindshater?" Tanya pointed out.
"And what about morphing? How come Ethan is the only one who could?" Rocky asked.
"Mind control is a deadly tool, and I have mastered it. Or at least my alter ego, so I have been protected. Dinoshade fried everyone else's morphing energy except for the DT rangers. They were unaffected because you, Ethan, and the others are the current team in existence. It has to do with the morphing grid. It's been altered somehow. Don't know how..."
"What did Mindshatter do to Andros and the others?" Carlos asked cutting him off, realizing they were running out of time. They had to act faster if they didn't want to fall to Mindshatter's fate.
"What he is good at. Mind control. He made them think you are now their enemies. The truth has been shard by lies they think is the truth. My powers alone won't be able to save them," Anton replied sadly as they moved down the hall.
The rangers fell closer to the wall, as they slowly moved through the corridors. They knew they had to go to their friends' aide and hope they were still around to save. But they also grew worried about the psycho rangers, too. They knew their friends didn't have any chance to survive.
XXXXXXXXXX
Conner and Kira went flying down the hall, sparks flying form their suits due to the impact of the laser arrows. Struggled to keep their ground against Trent, they knew they didn't have a chance. He was just as tough in his evil days now as he was back then, if not worse. His objective was the same, their destruction, but it was fueled by hate and anger toward them.
Conner helped Kira to her feet as they both tired to catch their breath. They had looked up the hall to see the twists and attacks on their friends. How Andros and Tommy didn't seem to listen to what their friends were trying to do, but while dealing with the psycho rangers' attacks too.
But they had their own hands full with Trent. And that was the frustrating part. They were the only ones suited up, while their friends were taking more hits than they could get into Trent. Not that they wanted to fight, they didn't, but he was forcing them to.
"C'mon. You're hardly a challenge," Trent stated in a low and heavy voice.
"Trent, you gotta stop this. You're under the influences of lies..." Kira began to reason with him.
"Lies!" he spat. "Were you gonna tell me that you were gonna hook up with Conner? And that you, Conner, were really gonna take her away from me? What about my father? Explain that to me! He will be Mesogog forever because of you guys!"
"Those are lies, Trent!" Conner held his breath. His own rash anger and competitive side was taking over him. He had learned to control it, but with a guy who just couldn't see their reasoning was bothering me a lot. "Mindshatter put those images in your head...or whatever he did..I don't know But we're not the enemy, Trent! We are your friends!"
"You were never my friends! You guys always thought I was just taking up space. It was all about the three of you. You didn't even care about Dr. Oliver. Well, no more. This ends now."
"This ends when we know you're back on the right side of the mirror," Kira spoke up. She took a step toward him just as Conner raced over to stop another blow, but she stopped him. She looked into the red visor of her boyfriend trying to find something underneath the cloud. "C'mon, Trent. You're better than this. Fight it."
And in those moments, Trent could say no more. They were locked in a world only they could seem to be in. But it was still shrouded in a darkness of confusion, searching. Lies vs. truth.
Meanwhile, up the hall, Adam had pushed the red psycho ranger into Tommy to catch his breath. He never had much of a chance, even under his skills as a ninja. The red psycho ranger seemed to analayze it with ease despite the times he failed to strike the black ninja.
Tommy had shoved the red psycho ranger, "I've had enough of you. Get out of my way!" as he struck him with an energy orb with his staff.
Psycho Red cried out in pain as the close range impact sent him into the wall, hard. The impact had also sent the other rangers into the wall or lose their footing. And when it had cleared, Psycho Red was only a memory. The hall brightened, but dimmed as the rangers shielded their eyes.
It fell silent for only a moment when everyone saw what had happened. The blue and yellow psycho rangers stopped to see the remains of their teammates, a shadow image of him, before getting back into battle, focusing on their opposites. TJ and Ashley struggled to fight with them while avoiding the attacks from Andros on them.
"Andros, you gotta stop this! We didn't do anything wrong," TJ protested as he pushed the blue psycho ranger to the ground.
"You can't be trusted. None of you," Andros pushed the blue space ranger into the wall.
Ashley kicked the yellow psycho ranger aside racing over to her teammates. She tried to pull Andros off TJ as he struggled to break the hold on his shirt. "Andros, please. Those are lies. Mindshatter manipulated your mind..."
"No," Andros shoved Ashley off of him as she hit the ground. He pushed TJ farther into the wall, pulling out his saber to lay inches before Ashley's neck. "How could you do this to me, Ashley! After all the years we've gone out. And you go for that pathetic excuse for a black ranger, Carlos."
Ashley breathed as she shook her head. "That's not true, Andros. You've known me long enough to know that. There's nothing going on between me and him. We're just good friends from high school."
"Just like TJ here, right? Just good friends? Why don't you define 'good friend' to me again? Remember, I'm not from Earth!"
"Yo, Andros. You gotta believe her. She's telling the truth," TJ stated.
"No more of your lies!" Andros stated as he threw TJ to the ground.
Adam forced air into his lungs as he looked up at Tommy, slowly coming his way. He knew at that point he didn't stand a chance against his friend in that state of mind. There was rage there that was beyond any way to control right now. But he to try. He had to keep trying to reason with his friend. See if the real person underneath the cloud of a world of lies was still there.
"Tommy, you don't wanna do this! You don't want to hurt me..." Adam said as he slowly backed away, trying to figure out another plan. He knew that Tommy wasn't acting like himself. He knew that Mindshatter must have manipulated his mind. He knew that what he was now perceiving was all lies, a shroud to hide the truth.
"Tommy, wait..." Adam tried to say, but Tommy threw him up against the wall, hand gripping his throat, lifting him off the ground.
"How could you do this to, Adam!" Tommy growled. "After everything we've been through, and this is how you repay me? By trying to take Kim away from me!"
Adam gripped his friend's forearm, using a little ninja magic to loosen the grip a little. "Tommy. Listen to me! I'm your friend. We've been friends for almost eleven years now. You know I would never do that to you, buddy."
"You're lying. That's all you've been doing for years."
"I'm also your doctor and a ninja. I know what it going on. Mindshatter has shielded you from the truth. You have to believe me."
"No." Tommy shook his head as he pushed Adam farther into the wall. "I heard this from Kim. Do you think I could back down from my wife's words? Admit it, Adam. You are tired of being lonely, so you think you could take up Kim in your arms once I screw up. It's not gonna happen. No one is taking her away from me. Not this time."
Adam gasped as he felt the grip tighten again. "Tommy, this isn't real. Whatever she might have just told you...those are lies... you gotta listen to me.."
TJ had pushed his opposite toward the two black rangers, startling the black DT ranger. He raced over just as Tommy loosened his grip on Adam. He sent a flying kick, sending Tommy to the ground and grasping Adam before he hit the ground.
"Sorry, Tommy," he apologized as he looked over at Adam. "You all right?"
Adam nodded slowly, but not without Tommy making a quick recovery. He pushed TJ aside and locked arms with Adam again. TJ jumped Tommy, trying to pull him back.
"Tommy, you gotta listen to him." TJ stated. "He's telling the truth."
Tommy shrugged off the blue space ranger as he pulled out his staff, pointing it at TJ. "What would you know? You're as much as sell out to being a leader as Rocky was. You've been demoted as a ranger."
Ashley had already managed to send Psycho Yellow on the retreat. Psycho Blue recovering and dsiappearing up the hall. The yellow space ranger could only conclude that they were in search for the other teammates while they were stuck dealing with their confused friends. She started to go after them, but Andros stopped her with an extended saber. She stopped short and caught her breath.
"And where do you think you're going?" Andros asked, his voice still low and full of hatred.
"Andros, you don't want to do this. You gotta fight it. These things that you've heard, they're lies. But what I'm trying to tell you is the truth. What TJ has been saying. We're your friends. Not your enemies," Ashley said calmly.
Andros stopped for a moment, trying to re-think his options. For a moment, her words seemed to make sense. That all the words that came out of her mouth and TJ's was the truth. But he wasn't so sure. He could usually tell the difference between those who spoke the truth and those who spoke lies. But his mind was just clouded. He couldn't really think straight. All he really knew was that his friends had betrayed him and they should pay for their betrayal. He shook his head, clearing away the words spoken by the yellow space ranger.
"No. You're lying," he stated. But his voice sounded more like a confused child than someone full of anger and hatred. "It's not true. It can't be true."
"Andros," Ashley began again as she took a step closer, pushing the saber aside. "I don't wanna fight you. I would never want to hurt you. We've known each other for far too long to even think of that. You gotta look beyond those clouded thoughts. Mindshatter is to blame for all of this. Not us. He killed Zhane, Andros. He killed the Lost Galaxy Rangers. He is to blame for your pain."
Andros lowered the saber and his head as he thought again. As those words escaped her mouth, they slowly began to register in Andros' mind. That everything around him was one big dream and that he was finally waking up from it.
"Ash...?" he spoke quietly. The strain of trying to remember what was real and what wasn't disturbed him. He came crashing to his knees grabbing his head, trying to shake all the thoughts out of his head. "No. This can't be real. You're lying."
"Andros, please. You gotta listen to me. Mindshatter is the enemy. He has, somehow, put a shroud over your thoughts, shielding you from the truth," Ashley spoke soothingly. It was calm and relaxing as she knelt by his side, grasping his shoulder. "Andros, you gotta trust me on this."
His mind danced around the thoughts of hatred, betrayal and lies that Mindshatter had placed there. There were a few truths peeking through, which confused him even more. He didn't know what to believe or how to believe it. But what Ashley kept telling him started to make more sense in his mind than anything else.
"Come back to me, baby," Ashley moved closer to him. Her voice rang like a choir in his ear. "Come back to us. What you've thought about us hating or betraying you is not true. Look deep down and you will know the real truth."
For a moment, TJ and Adam had locked Tommy in their embrace as they watched the yellow space ranger reason with her boyfriend. They could hear her soothing voice try to comfort him, pull him back into reality. And they knew they were getting somewhere with it. He had stopped the battle and collapsed to the ground like a helpless child. And Ashley was the support he needed to see what exactly was going on around him.
Time seemed to pass slow. Though far from the battle, Conner and Kira had noticed the effort Ashley had been trying to do with Andros. They saw him struggle to believe the truth, and hoped that he could find it. But they were still having problems with Trent. Ones they didn't need. It was one thing to deal with him when he was evil, it's even worse dealing with him when he also holds a personal grudge against you.
Conner and Kira used all their efforts to shove Trent into the wall, locking him in place.
Conner exchanged a quick look with Kira, knwoing he would have to do what he could to knock some sense back into his friend. "Trent, you gotta listen to us. We're your friends..."
"Ex-friends," Trent corrected as he try to twist out of their grip. But they had him up against the wall tight.
"No. We are your friends. If we weren't we wouldn't be doing all of this to knock some sense into you," Kira said.
"You gotta remember who you're fighting for and what, Trent," Conner said, the voice of a leader returning to his pitch. "We aren't the enemy. Mindshatter is. Remember, he kidnapped your father and changed him back to Mesogog. He is to blame, not us."
Trent groaned, shifting his weight as he pushed the two DT rangers to the ground. He flexed his arms and looked down at them, swinging his sword around. "It's a lie. All of it. And now, you must pay for it."
Kira held her breath as she could only pray there was one chance to uplift the shroud over Trent's eyes. She had remembered the same story being told by Tanya, the yellow zeo ranger, regarding a certain legendary ranger in a dark time where he thought he was king of the entire Machine Empire. She stood up, crossing her arms before her and dropping them back to her side. "Power down." A light covered her body and as it cleared, she stood there in her civilian form. She slowly walked up to the white DT rangers as he took a step back. "Trent, it's me. Kira. Don't you recognize me? I'm your girlfriend."
Trent took another step back as the images of their betrayal played through his head. But even there were a few other images, of ones regarding a certain independent singer sharing her talent with other teens. He shook his head as he took another step back toward the wall. "No. You're lying to me, Kira. You're with him now, aren't you!"
Conner saw the gesture as he shook his head, getting to his feet. He knew he would have to follow suit and hope that there was some hope in bringing their friend back into reality. He brought his own arms up crossed his chest and back down to drop him out of the suit and return to his civilian form. "Power down!" He walked up beside Kira holding a concern face. "Trent, I know you're in there. I know you gotta think this is all ballistic, but I would never do that to you. You're my friend, not my enemy. Not anymore."
Trent shook his head again as his steps slowly faltered. For a moment he grabbed his head trying to remember what had happened days ago, but couldn't. The only thing that played in his head were the lies, betrayal, jealous and hate of his friends. He leveled his sword, held out in a threat as he eyed the two rangers. "I know what you're doing. My dad warned me about this. He told me you would try to do this, but you know what, who would you take the word of more? Family or friends? I'm sorry, but he's family and..."
Kira took another step forward. "Trent! We're also family to you in this circle of rangers! What you might have heard from Anton or Mesogog, or whoever, could have been a lie."
"No," Conner shook his head. "It was a lie. You have been made to believe we are the enemy. And you might think it was your father who said it, but it wasn't. Mindshatter has the power of mind control. He is using it on you right now to shield your eyes from the truth, Trent. You gotta try and remembered everything before all those things you might have heard from your father just recently."
Meanwhile, up the hall, Ashley knew she was finally getting to Andros. He was now on his knees, struggling, more silently, with the truth over the lies. And the way that Ashley kept approaching it, made more and more sense to him. It was like he was beginning to remember and understand.
"Your name is Andros," Ashley said calmly as she grasped his shoulder to make him look at her. "You are the Red Space Ranger, our leader. We went up into space with you to save Zordon. Me, Cassie, TJ and Carlos. You had to make a sacrifice and kill Zordon, but it was the only thing that could have been done to save us all. You also lead a task force team of Red Rangers alongside Tommy Oliver against the remnant evil of the Machine Empire and Serpentena. We tried to stop Mindshatter before he could cause too much destruction but were too late to save Zhane and the Lost Galaxy Rangers. But now, we have teamed up again with the DinoThunder Rangers to end this before it gets worse. Please, Andros, you gotta remember."
Andros looked away again. And at that point, he had pushed Ashley aside, grapping his head. He cried in pain struggling between the words she spoke and the images that played in his mind. They were still of the evil and lies planted by Mindshatter, but as he searched through them, it made more sense as nightmares he didn't want to face.
Ashley continued to encourage him, talking to him and sooting him with her voice. He groaned in pain as the struggled continued and then he had seen the light and the end of the tunnel. His vision was blinded by a white light and when it cleared, his eyes grew heavy and time just seemed to stop.
The world around him stopped and he had fallen forward, his eyes shutting.
But as he did, laying there motionless, he demorphed. For a moment, Ashley had not moved a muscle. And though both TJ and Adam were still struggling with Tommy, TJ had pushed the black DT ranger aside and raced over to the motionless figure. He peeled Andros off the ground as Ashley raced to his side, shaking the red space ranger awake.
"Andros? Andros, wake up!" they said, as each in turn tried to shake him awake.
Then Andros came to as if he just came out of water, coughing and gagging. He slumped over coughing for a moment until he was locked in a tight hug by Ashley. For a moment, he had forgotten what had happened, then remembered every second as he came out of a trance. He wrapped his arms around Ashley laying a kiss on her head.
"Thank you, Ash," he whispered just as TJ ruffled his hair. Andros looked over at TJ and nodded his thanks. "Thanks, TJ. That is something I don't..."
"I'd hate to break up this happy moment, but..." Adam called out, but was thrown against the wall again, a hand locked around his neck.
"Adam," Ashley quickly sprang to her feet, getting back into serious mode. She raced over but was stopped by another upraised hand as if a shield was planted right in front of her.
TJ and Andros quickly recovered racing over, but had ran into the invisible wall that seemed to stop them from getting to their teammate. The men tried to push and shove, put didn't seem to find an open. They watched somewhat helpless as Tommy had raced Adam a bit higher off the ground. They called out to Tommy, telling him to stop, but he didn't seem to listen.
Through the visor, Adam could sense the burning fire in his friend's eyes. Adam calmed his breathing and closed his eyes as he slowly began to concentrate. Use the energy around him and call upon his animal spirit in hopes to find a lock on Tommy's own animal spirit. He had already taken a bad beating which made it a little harder.
"I'm sorry it has to be this way, Adam," Tommy replied coldly, "but you have left me with no other options."
TJ, Ashley and Andros continued to call beyond the invisible wall, hoping to register something in his mind, but it just didn't seem to work. TJ looked down the hall seeing the same struggle with the DT teens. He called out to Conner as he raced over using his super speed. His eyes widen with fear as he saw the near fate of his friend in the black ninja suit. Adam's eyes were already closed and they thought he might have been dead, but Conner wasn't convinced.
"No, he knows more than we could ever understand. He must have a plan," Conner said quietly.
The black DT ranger had slowly moved as he still held the black ninja in his grasp. He slowly walked closer to the wall he had somehow created to give the other rangers a closer look at the demise. But as he walked, the two seemed to glow slowly. And as the rangers watched in confusion, they saw what looked like a spirit jump from Adam into Tommy.
Tommy lost his grip as the power of the jump threw him to the ground. Adam hit the ground almost like a rag doll and the rangers fell forward as the wall was broken. Ashley and Conner raced over to the motionless black ninja. TJ and Andros moved against the black DT ranger, who appeared just as motionless.
Meanwhile, down the hall, Kira had caught Trent as he fell to his knees. The struggle to know the truth danced in his mind as he tried to remember what was going on. And as he tried to get out of her grip, Kira had refused to let him go. She pulled him closer to her trying to be consoling and comforting. She calmly whispered into his ear of several memories he had shared with her and his friends.
"Trent, you gotta remember. For all of our sakes," she had ended her calm reasoning as he continued to struggle out of her grip. "No. I'm not letting you go. You must remember, please."
Trent groaned as his hands were plastered to his head, Kira continued to cradle him in her arms. Like in the past, she had been his shoulder to lean on during his transition into the ranger family. She had been there for a place to cry on and talk to. She always wanted to learn more about him since she had first seen him, and there were still a few things, a lot of things, he had yet to talk about. But, she wanted to see it through. See how far it got and this was just another obstacles they would have to overcome. An obstacle with great scars but many lessons for the future.
Then the struggled had stopped and Kira watched as her boyfriend demorphed in her arms. His body became still as the mintues passed slowly. The tears wanted to fall for fear that he could have died, but she knew it was not true. There was no way.
Then he finally stirred, again, like Andros gasping and coughing like he had come out of the water. He coughed and coughed as Kira loosened her gip to give him some air to breath. When he had calmed down he had looked up, seeing the relief fall over Kira's face. And though, he had remembered what had just happened, it was hard to describe.
"Kira, I remember," he breathed as he shook his head. "I remember everything now. I know..." But before he could saw anything he had felt her soft lips on his and he was pulled into a tight hug. He could only tighten the grip as he heard the soft crying come from his girlfriend.
XXXXXXXXXX
In the dark vastness of space. Of a place deep within the mind, two spirits drifted through the astral plains in a trance. The spirit of the frog and the spirit of the falcon. And once the falcon stirred, so did the frog. Both morphing and taking shape as a figure, a human figure. And then it revealed the very structure of Adam Park and Tommy Oliver.
Tommy looked around slightly confused. He felt like he had been in this state of mind, drifting and sleeping, for some time and that another had finally awoke him. "Adam? What's going on?"
"You know what's going on," Adam replied. "Mindshatter has taken control of your mind, but in the depths of your mind lives the primate side that never sleeps to anything. It's in all of us, but only so many have tapped into it."
For a moment, Tommy thought. He could remember the images and words of a mesmerizing Kim. But in the depths of his mind, he had never believed it. He just couldn't, where his primate and animal spirit lived. He had two, forged together by the white light of purity. The power and strength of the white tiger and the speed and knowledge of the falcon. "After all this, and he finally accomplishes it?"
Adam nodded. "I know. It's crazy. But it's time to wake up and look beyond the lies, Tommy. We need you fighting for the right side. With us. Fight back. But this is one battle you must fight on your own."
And with those last few words, the spirit of Adam had morphed back into a frog. It slowly drifted out into the plains of space within the mind, leaving the lone to figure out how to get back to reality.
For a moment, Tommy had remembered being strapped into a chair while something was locked around his head and dino morpher. It was almost like he sat beside himself as the mind probe and control took over him. He, physically, felt helpless. That only the spirit of his falcon could watch as he took a beating for the worse.
Then he saw the light and it all fell into line. His eyes flashed open as he began to cough and grasp for air. He forced air back into his lungs as he slumped over to his side, groaning. When the world around him finally began to register, he felt the presence of others around him. He slowly rolled over to his back to see the relief fall over the array of rangers planted over him.
No words were really spoken as his gaze locked on Adam. TJ and Conner had helped him to his feet as he looked around again. He was no longer in his ranger suit, and saw the exhaustion in all of them. Andros and Trent looked a little more pale and weak as they leaned against their respective girl.
He knew they had overstayed their visit as he looked at the setting of their location. He knew they were in the fortress. And he had remembered everything that had happened in that battle. And as close as they were to the destruction and truth, they had to fall back and come up with a whole new plan. He took the lead, though had to use the support of Adam and TJ to get them to their next destination.
Safely out of the fortress without running into anymore problems.
XXXXXXXXXX
Team B had moved down the hall with Mesogog/Anton as their guide. He had led them into passageways that none of them seemed to recognize. Not even the device they held in their hands would be enough to tell them where they were going. They could only trust the guide in the mutant.
But their thoughts were wondering, they were in fear. They didn't know what kind of condition their friends were in. They couldn't contact them. As a warning by Mesogog, he told them, Mindshatter could use their communications as a homing beacon on the fortress. And that was one thing they did not need at all.
A line of strange wind echoed through the hall as the rangers came to a halt, but Mesogog only urged them on. They knew it was the T-drones, but they weren't sure if they were fighting on their side or the others. Yet, they were also unsure about trusting Mesogog.
But none of them had said anymore and followed him on ward. As soon as the halls seemed to dim as they moved farther down it, they felt like they had hit uncharted territory. But were stopped short when it came to a dead end.
"You just led us into a dead end," Carlos protested. He had gotten frustrated with their run through the fortress. He hated he had no clue about what was going on, and he knew they all were. "We should be up there helping our friends."
"We were given a task, and so were they. We gotta go with it," Tanya said.
"They go rescue the others, while we work some magic to damage the systems," Ethan spoke up.
"But I agree with Carlos," Rocky spoke up. "I mean, we don't know where Mesogog -- or Anton -- or whoever is in that dino body is taking us. How can we trust you and you're not leading us into a trap?"
"But weren't you the one who said we should follow him?" Cassie had to butt in.
Rocky shook his head, sighing. "You know, that is not the point. Right now, we have no idea where we are and what kind of condition our friends are in. Or if they're even alive at all..."
Tanya put a finger to his lips, shutting him up. In situations like this he would go crazy over not knowing what was going on. And that's what could get him into serious trouble. It would lead him to make some rather bad decisions, and that's not what they needed as a team.
"You can believe whatever you want, Rocky. I can only show you the door," Mesogog spoke up as he tapped against the wall.
"Don't use those Morpheus-like philosophies on us. You led us to a dead end," Carlos had to agree with the blue zeo ranger.
Mesogog looked away as he let out a breath. He tapped the wall again, reaching on the side walls as he felt a hallow area. He punched it to reveal a hidden keypad as he entered in a code. Then the wall, which they swore was a dead-end, opened up to reveal a darken room.
Ethan slowly stepped inside as the others followed suit. There were a mesmerizing humming in the room as panel upon panel blinked with life. There were wires connecting other panels together, but all seemed to play an important role for something.
Mesogog stopped short of the door as if a force field had been placed before him and he could not enter.
"What is this place?" Cassie turned to look at the mutant freak.
"The mainframe computer room to the entire fortress, am I right?" Ethan seemed fascinated by the work. He had moved over to a computer stationed at the center of the room looking at it in awe. "I didn't think you'd have one of these things."
"And neither does Mindshatter," Mesogog said from beyond the threshold. "Unfortunately, with this electrical bindings around my wrists, I cannot enter it. It would only weaken me further."
"So, what are we waiting for? Let's just blast this place and end it now," Rocky said as he reached for Ethan's blaster at his side.
"If you do that none of us will make it out of here alive. This is the key element in the destruction of the fortress, but once it has been activated there is no way to stop it. The only way out of here is through the main portal system in the main lab because all other back-up systems will automatically shut down," Mesogog spoke slowly.
"Okay, that's not a good thing. We don't even know where we are in the fortress," Tanya said.
"In the lower levels where no one dares to trend into. The area that only I and Dr. Oliver know about, exits and entrances."
"So, why'd you take us down here if we can't destroy it?" Cassie asked.
"I had given Tommy a CD with vital information toward the destruction of the fortress and hopefully the end of Mindshatter. If we can get him down here, then it could weaken him. It is only theory, but by overriding his own mind, we could destroy him. He is after all only a machine made to follow the rules of a super computer. This is the closest thing you will have in order to stop him. If you can familiarize yourself with the computer work, especially you, Ethan, it could save us all."
Rocky grasped the blue DT ranger on the shoulder. "Well, looks like it is up to you. No pressure, Ethan."
Ethan shook his head as he ran his fingers over the main keyboard in the room. It had a standard keyboard mixed with a huge line of other buttons he had yet to understand. "Thanks for the encouragement."
"But I thought the portal system could only be opened from the main network in the lab?" Cassie said.
Mesogog nodded. "However, there is a way. With those device you have created to open up your own portal, it should work as a key to take you up to the main network in the lab. There is only once chance. And I can only brief you on what I know."
"How sure are you about how well this will work?" Carlos asked.
"It is after all only a theory. But I'd give you guys at least a 60-40 chance to go along with it."
Ethan sighed as he looked at the code running down the screen of the main laptop. Most of the codes he could not quite figure out, but didn't seem at all foreign. He had focused more on his dance life rather than computer life, but it wasn't like it still existed. It was running codes for locations and levels of radiation and energy throughout the lab.
"60-40!" Tanya said as fear struck her. "My only question is, does this thing link to our own network of systems in Angel Grove and Reefside?"
Ethan's eyes flashed over the screen as he consumed the material making calculations in his head over it. "It's running an analysis of the morphing energy and heat signature in the fortress. It's almost like a camera, except it's all in code." He looked up at Mesogog. "Who developed the system?"
Mesogog could only shrug. "Unfortunately, I am not quite a computer genius to answer that for you. It originally acted as a security system and research log for our work years before most of it was lost. But as of now, I'm not sure what it has been doing."
"Was this same system used to re-program the tyrannodrones?" Ethan asked as if he started to build his own theory around it.
"Yes," the mutant freak replied simply.
Ethan began to think for a moment as the other rangers looked at him with what thoughts he was developing. It seemed important enough to notice he was starting to figure something out. "I think we're starting to get something here."
"Like what?" Rocky asked. He was anxious to know what the blue DT ranger had come up with. "Do share."
"Yes, do share," a voice echoed through the hall.
Rocky and Carlos busted out of the room just as Mesogog turned to follow suit. They saw as two figures emerged from the dimmed hall into the sight of one of the light panels on the ceiling. It was the blue psycho ranger and the yellow pycho ranger.
"Great, that's all we need right now," Rocky sighed as he fell into a defensive stance. "But where is Psycho Red?"
"How about we don't ask and just send these guys on their way?" Carlos said as he followed suit.
Cassie, Tanya and Ethan peered out into the hall seeing the trouble. Mesogog turned to look at them as he pulled them out of the room, shutting the door behind them.
"You've run out of time, rangers," Mesogog pulled them up the hall. "You must go. If Mindshatter makes any discovery about this place, we may never be able to stop him. There will be another time to fight."
"But they're closing out our only escape," Cassie protested.
Mesogog continued to push them closer to the psycho rangers, but rammed into a wall to reveal a hidden passage. He shoved them in as he raced for the psycho rangers, forcing them back.
"Wait, Meso-- Anton, wait," Tanya tried to grab him.
Mesogog looked at them as he urged them on. "Go! Get out of here!" He pushed a hidden device on his belt and an invisi-portal opened up.
A line of t-drones blocked the path for the psycho rangers, sealing off the panel on the wall, leaving the rangers in the darken hall. They knew it was another sacrifice they had to look past. They didn't like the torment of seeing their friend being held captive by Mindshatter, let alone being trapped in the body of his alter ego.
Ethan began to push a few buttons on the device as an invisi-portal opened up in front of them. He pushed the older rangers toward it, not wanting anymore discussion over the manner. They had to get out of there before the psycho rangers could find them, or even the cybots.
But they would be returning with some key information that could prove to be vital in their future battles. After a moment of grasping his breath, especially gaining some knowledge form the coded computer, he knew it would be what they needed to end this. He looked back up the hall hearing the pounding and fight echo through the wall.
"Thank you, Dr. Mercer. We'll be back," Ethan said quietly as he jumped into the portal and it shut behind him.
He came to a landing in Reefside Forest as the other four rangers stopped to catch their breath. For awhile, they were glad to have such a device as that, but feared the worse for their teammates. They were nowhere in sight.
Rocky pulled up his communicator calling on the technical advisor back in the lab. "Hey, Cam. This is Rocky. Got anything from Team A, yet?"
"No," Cam replied. "But it's good to see the five of you got out of there in one piece."
"And we got some vital information for you, too," Ethan replied as he de-morphed, leaving him back in his civilan form.
"And some bad news. Our morphing energy has been fried, except for Ethan and other other dino rangers," Carlos spoke up.
"Okay. Okay. Time out. Give the others a few minutes. We need to discuss this as a whole. And I think I might be getting somewhere with our communications systems, too," Cam said.
They cut off the transmission, slumping on fallen trees to catch their breath. No real words could be said as fear ran over them. They wanted to say something to each other, but it was clear they had grown worried about their friends. They didn't know if they pulled it off, and hoped that they did.
The minutes passed slow. But finally, they heard the crackling sound of an invisi-portal and watched as eight figures emerged form it in the distance. They raced over as relief fell over each of them. Team A had returned, and they had the three captive rangers in their grasp. But it was clear that they were all exhausted and tired.
Andros, Tommy and Trent still looking pale and dazed by their little fiasco.
"Man, do we got some info for you guys," Rocky stated.
"And so do we. C'mon, let's head back." Adam said.
And the array of rangers slowly headed back to the lab. Each team talking quietly among themselves, trying to grasp the information said by the other.
But they all knew that it was only gonna get harder as the days went on. They knew they had to end this soon or it could destroy them all. It was getting harder to keep their guards up and it was even harder knowing that three of them had experienced the real power of Mindshatter on their minds.
But they were all eager to get the real news and wonder what vital information was locked away in the disk that Tommy had received from Anton. They just hope that battle would end sooner before later. They weren't sure how much more punishment they could take as a whole.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Mindshatter had sat in his chair thinking deeply. He had been sitting there, unmoved by the action of anything going on in the fortress. His mind was on other things. On other matters he had sent only his best cybots to accomplish. The gesture of Dinoshade caught his eye as he watched the array of candles being set up by his henchman.
A comanding officer from a unit of cybots had made the report of locating the rangers located in Mariner Bay. Mindshatter had absently heard the news as he waved the gesture away.
Dinoshade walked over to the lead soldier and bowed. "Master, the rangers have fled with the red space ranger, and the two dino rangers. You plan has failed."
"Don't underestimate me!" Mindshatter growled. "Send the psycho rangers to take out the Lightspped Rangers. And jam their transmissions so they won't be able to make a distress call. I will deal with the rangers assembled here in Reefside."
"But what about the other rangers still out there?" Dinoshade asked.
"That's where you come in, Dinoshade. Find them and eliminate them quickly. I do not need anymore rangers breathing down my back then need be. They should not be much of a problem since they do not propose a threat to me," Mindshatter gestured the robo-dinosaur out of the room. "Now, go and fulfill your duty. Take that mutant freak with you and keep a close eye on him. I am worried about his loyalty. Do not return until you have completely your mission."
"Yes, master," Dinoshade bowed and left the room.
Mindshatter walked over to the candles set up on the other side of the room. There were fourteen candles in all. Two were red, three were blue, three were yellow, two were black, one was white, one was pink and one was green. Five of them stood alone to symbolize the dino thunder rangers, while the others stood next to each other.
"Those rangers have no idea what they're up against," Mindshatter bellowed with an evil laugh. His eyes glowed to a fiery red haze. "I have huge plans for the black and white dino rangers."
to be continued...
A/N: Ooh. Kinda an intense moment, right? What happens next? Yeah, well read on. And there is a hint, you'll be seeing the return of a vital character. I hope I haven't pushed you off the seat completely as you fall to your knees begging for more. I'll get to it. Just keep reading and doing what you gotta do. May the powers always protect you.