'TIL I COLLAPSE- PART FORTY-ONE: STAR WARS
SEQUEL TO: ORDINARY WORLD
SUMMARY: The long awaited installment of the biggest event in movie history is about to hit theaters. But Mindshatter has his own set of plans that could very well test who is good and evil in the battle to protect Earth.
DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I just like that I managed to carry on PRDT even after the show has ended, and I got some fans of my work. I also don't own any control to Star Wars and the biggest Jedi Master himself, George Lucas, so don't sue me, please. I only own this adventure and the creations of Mindshatter, Dinoshade, the cybots and Serena Oliver.
A/N: I had to do a chapter with the whole Star Wars things. I am serious, because all of my friends think I'm some nut job for liking the movie. I ain't a freak fan like others, but I like it enough to have my bragging rights to this Star Wars franchise. So, I figured what if there was a time where there were three Jedi trying to convert their friends into fans as well? I don't know. Never mind. Just read on. And be prepared to set pace into our epic battle. It is coming up.
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"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ... lives a team of color-coordinated superheroes known as the Power Rangers. They are here to protect planet Earth from evil as well as bring peace and justice to the galaxy.
But along the way, they must try to fit in and maintain a normal life among those they serve,
but it is never easy when evil can be anywhere." -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
Mindshatter had sat mindless in the main laboratory of the fortress. He had not moved from that spot for days, waiting in the shadows, preparing. He had waited long enough for his final attack to go down. He had to move, and soon. His army was now down to only 30 troops. He didn't quite understand how they had stopped functioning or were beyond the point of repair, but seemed to care less about their fates. He had only cared that, in the end, he would be the victor in this battle.
He might have been a mind reader, probing and destroying the thoughts of his enemies, but he could not predict the future. And the thought of being around human minds any longer angered him more. He had had enough of their very existence. If he could destroy the rangers, than no one else would have a chance. But there was something about him, inside, that he couldn't seem to describe. He couldn't find the power to destroy any other human except for those residing around the Power Rangers. It was something he had tried to figure out for the months his reign had begun. But could never quite figure out.
He slammed his fist into the chair, frustrated. He didn't understand why it took so long to destroy these rangers on Earth, but could only conclude that they were moving against him at greater numbers. But their numbers were down just as his own. That wouldn't be too much of a problem, if he moved onto his next set of plans. And he hoped that it would go down soon enough.
The two remaining psycho rangers stood motionless in the shadows waiting for his orders. Though they had despised ever listening to the evil universal soldier, they did not want to jeopardy their own fates like their fallen comrades. First, there was five. Then Psycho Pink had met an untimely fate when she had almost succeeded in stealing away the Pink Space Ranger's powers, but failed and destroyed by the Pink Lost Galaxy Ranger. The four others were converted back into datacards and then re-converted back into living beings by Mindshatter somehow. But Psycho Black had fallen to the hands of three black rangers; Carlos, Adam and Tommy. Psycho Red had also fallen victim to the ruthless power, rage and evil of the black dino ranger. And now, only two remained, Blue and Yellow.
Mindshatter had looked over at the motionless soldiers as his eyes glowered to a heighten spark of red. He had waited too long to attack, that the team was no longer divided, and could result in making it harder to destroy them. But his biggest and darkest plan was still being prepared.
He moved out of the chair, to the main control system, looking over at a chamber beside the re-constructed Geno-Randomizer. Inside, something glowed in a hint of green, draining energy from the motionless evil Psycho Rangers in the shadows beside it.
"If he returns to the dark side, than none of them would have a chance," Mindshatter spoke darkly mostly to himself.
XXXXXXXXXX
One week later, May 7th, 2005.
Tommy had taken a run out in the woods, returning an hour later as it reached the 6 o'clock hour. At times, he was an early bird when it came to working out, especially on the weekend. If he didn't have the time to do it during the morning, he did it at night when time permitted.
He slowly strode into the house wiping the sweat from his face as he moved into the workout room. Another good long hour had passed when he felt that he had had enough. When he had stepped out, he had smelt the aroma of breakfast fill the house.
He tucked the towel around his neck as he walked into the living room, laying a kiss on the little girl who had woke up early to catch her usual Saturday morning cartoons.
"Morning, daddy," Serena smiled as she took a bite of her cereal. "Have a nice workout?"
"Yeah, I did. I best not find you watching nothing more than those cartoons," he warned her before placing another kiss on her head.
She only gave him an innocent look that he had hated to fall into, and couldn't refuse. But managed to work every time.
The man moved into the kitchen where he found his wife cooking up a little breakfast for them. He wrapped his arms around her, laying a kiss on the back of her neck that made her smile. "Shouldn't I be the one making breakfast, Beautiful?"
"And try to kill us all?" she joked as she flipped the pancake. She brought her hand around, only to feel the sweat run down his hair. She wiped it on his towel, shaking her head. "You're sweating, Tommy."
"I just got done working out," he countered. "Would you prefer me to go catch a shower before I came to breakfast?"
"It's an idea, but I'm almost done anyway. Besides, we gotta make another stop to the store."
"Again?" he breathed shaking his head, before laying another kiss on her neck. "You gotta be kidding me. Well, if you didn't have all these weird cravings and go off and eat everything in the fridge, we wouldn't have to go every week."
Kim turned and fed him the pancake that had just finished cooking. He cried out in pain from its heat as he dropped it to the ground taking a step back, surprised. He gagged trying to keep it cool about the burn on his tongue, but it hurted. She directed him to a chair as he slowly sat down, his head hung low like a puppy who did something wrong.
When the rest of the pancakes had been cooked, along with some eggs and bacon, Kim had called over the little girl for her fill of something to eat. For a little girl, she did have a huge appetite. The trio enjoyed their breakfast, father and daughter had kept quiet about the woman's weird blend of food. Kim had placed hot sauce on her pancakes, and made a sorta sundae with her eggs, bacon, whip cream, chocolate syrup and a cherry on top. The duo had to keep their heads low and close to their plates to really avoid feeling like they were gonna gag at the sight of her concoction.
By late morning, they had been on their way to the store -- Walmart. Tommy manned the cart with Serena riding on the back end while Kim slowly directed them throughout the store. Despite the times they were out shopping as a family, both Serena and Tommy had wavered over some of the choices Kim would make about getting stuff. Sometimes, she would buy in compulsive ways, stock up on food, and other times she would only get so little. And with her heated mood swings from time to time, the duo never really tried to compete with her about what should be bought and what shouldn't.
"I wish that baby would be coming out sooner than later," Tommy groaned quietly to himself. He didn't want to say that it would be any easier once the baby was out in the world, he just didn't like the fact that the long nine months in waiting for it was probably the hardest thing he would ever have to deal with. Kim's emotional stability wasn't exactly at its best, especially in the past few weeks. He just hoped that it wasn't a big deal and would pass in time.
After running through the grocery aisles for nearly an hour and a half, both Tommy and Serena were feeling a little worn out than need be. Despite the cart full of food, both were feeling a need to satisfy their inner child, hoping to go down the toy section to find something to ease their pain. For awhile, Tommy had to calm down Kim when she couldn't seem to find what she was looking for, or something was out-of-stock. But soon enough, he gave up, letting her rage out, literally knocking him down when she had gotten a little too emotional. Tommy knew he would have to find some surprise to satisfy his wife, but first, it was his needs he had to fulfill.
Serena had already sprinted across the store to the toy section, with her father and mother following some feet away. For a kid with a lot of energy, she still kept a level head above other kids. Most kids would cry about not getting something they've always wanted, but she seemed a little more strategic about getting her way. Tommy had no idea how she did it, but she did. She could say one thing, but it would mean another and soon enough, she would be getting what she wanted. Not that she was all about the material items, she just knew if she had to have it, she'd better get it.
When Serena had finally found the aisle she was looking for, she had raced over to pull one of the toy lightsabers from the hanging display, retracted it and swung the plastic blue blade about, making the sound effects of its deadly call. Tommy wasn't too far behind, needed to fulfill his inner child and grabbed another lightsaber, this one red.
"Serena, I am your father," he couldn't help but say in a dark, low voice as Serena swung locking weapons with his.
The two sparred for some time until Serena had went low, striking his leg. Tommy mocked cried as he hit the ground and she had mock stabbed him in the chest with a line of laughter following. Tommy groaned, dropping the saber, but grabbed his daughter pulling him into her laying a few kisses on her head.
"You will turn to the dark side. These kisses are tempting you to," he chuckled as he let her go and she began to gawk over the display of Star Wars toys across the entire aisle.
Moments later, the back of a cart had struck Tommy, catching his attention. His wife looked at him then over at the display of toys shaking her head. "I never did understand what was the hype over Star Wars, anyway."
"Never understood the hype! Now, come on, you can't begin to tell me you don't see what George Lucas has done to create a whole other galaxy full of good, evil and a line of interesting characters," Tommy moved to her side, laying a kiss on her cheek.
"It's only the best movie in the world," Serena smiled as she began to look through the action figures.
"And what she said. The entire franchise..." Tommy began to say.
Kim absently shook away his explanation, not caring too much about what he had to say. "Personally, I think it is just another one of those movies that pulls people into doing some pretty egotistical things like standing outside a movie theater for a month to wait for it to come out, having a duplicate costume from the movie and parade it around, or talk about the good and evil between two forces as either a small green guy that looks like a gremlin or some huge machine who can only live off of being in a robotic suit. Not exactly what one like me would call the best thing in the world."
"Well, you seem to know enough to get all that down," Tommy protested.
"I have a little brother who falls in love with amazing special effects, good story plots and interesting twists."
Tommy nodded slowly as he had to admit that Kim's little brother had fallen into the generation of new age technology. And he was well rounded enough to get pulled into something like the hype around Star Wars. Serena began to tug on her father's pant leg as he turned to look down at what she held in her hands. She was holding the Darth Vader mask that breathed like he did, have a voice-changer and a button for movie phrases. He had to admit, he was in favor of getting something like that, especially around Halloween just to freak out everyone else. He had secretly been a fan of the Star Wars movies for a long time, even in his younger since, due to his father. He had a whole box full of original collectibles that his father had passed onto him, and in the following years within the release of the prequels, he had been collecting other toys and memorabilia to complete his collection. The only problem was finding a place to set it up and hope that his wife wouldn't find him too much of a geek for having all of it. But he had to admit, the collection was rather pricy, but probably couldn't compare to what other people had.
Tommy hadn't realize though, that his own daughter had her own interests in the movie. He had started off her own collection a few weeks ago, when the first of the toys for the final movie came out. And when he had realized it, the new Star Wars Episode 3 game had been out for a few days now, and he had to get ahold of that. And no one said that playing video games at his age was a bad thing. It would beat dealing with other things in his life when he couldn't find comfort in other things.
"Now, how did I know I'd find my science and P.E. teachers here in the toy aisle of the store?" a voice asked from behind.
Tommy turned around to see the blue dino ranger standing behind them. He held something in his hand, slightly hidden with the red dino ranger tagging along behind him. The duo had greeted the family asking what they were doing, but only concluded for themselves when they saw the cart full of food. They were shopping. And a certain little girl who was swinging about a lightsaber struck Conner in the leg, calling his attention.
"What the...?" Conner turned around, only to see Serena run behind a display of stuff animals. He looked back at the toy aisle they were in, shaking his head. "What is the hype with Star Wars?"
"What is the hype! Bro, it's like only the most epic movie ever to hit the movie screen," Ethan shook his head. "I mean, no one has ever pulled off six movies like that and can say that it will never die."
"It's just a movie."
"Finally, I have someone to agree with me," Kim let out a breath as she patted the teen in red on the back. "You and me both, Conner."
"Not just any movie," Ethan said, taking a breath. He knew that if he didn't get any back up about this, he would be on his own again, and everyone around him would think he was an idiot. "Those movies have grossed more money than any other movie could in its existence."
"Ethan's got you there," Tommy nodded as he moved over to Ethan's side to show his support. "Besides, did you know that in today's youth, more kids will be able to tell you who Darth Vader is but not William Shakespeare? Kinda a new twist on how much Star Wars has changed the world."
The pregnant woman looked over at the teen in red shaking her head and rolling her eyes. He leaned over to hear what she was telling him quietly, obviously not wanting to two other people to listen. Tommy looked over at Ethan and shrugged as he began to file out statements and rumors he heard about the movie. That the press release had happened only a few days ago, and reviewers have already gone around saying that this was one movie worth seeing. That the PG-13 rating, a first in its kind for the Star Wars movies, really was worth it and that it was in fact the darkest of all movies, tying in many lose ends between the prequels and the original trilogy.
Ethan had to admit he was surprised to hear his science teacher was a fanatic of the crazed movie, but glad he had someone to back him up. He had revealed what he had hidden in his hand, the Star Wars Clone Wars cartoon series that aired on Cartoon Network on DVD. He said he had already gotten the long awaited Episode 3 video game and said it was worth the purchase.
"Do you see these guys, Coach?" Conner shook his head as he took a step back. "I know it's not my place, but at least I don't have to deal with that, no offense to you. Do you see what the big deal is about this movie?"
"Only that I hear the last one is finally coming out after all these years. It's like the biggest thing to happen for any Star Wars fans."
"Can I say I've never actually seen any of the movies?" Conner said quietly, but it had caused the two Jedi to stop their talk, looking over at the red dino ranger as if he had said something wrong.
"You've never seen any of the them!" Ethan breathed. He walked over wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulder. "What do you think, Dr. O? I think we need to put these two through a little Star Wars boot camp."
"Now, I don't wanna go and shove it down their throats about it..."
Ethan cleared his throat repeating it as a wink fell over his eye. They had recently been discussing that the movie would be out in less than two weeks, and they were in need of catching it. It wouldn't be right to bring along some friends who had no idea what was going on about it. He walked over to his science teacher pulling him over for another private chat. He told his science teacher that Trent and him had been planning for that very day of release for the movie as a sorta big party for those interested. Yet, he wasn't quite sure what kinda assistance Trent was gonna pull into it, but wouldn't doubt his word. Ethan had to look at it as they were the Jedi Masters, and Conner and Kim were the Padawan in all of this.
"You are not gonna make me sit through six plus hours of that movie, Tommy," Kim walked over to him, shaking her head. "I know how long those movies are and I don't intend on watching any of them."
Tommy looked over at Ethan who could give him a simple nod. It was time to get out of the box a little. And there were several things that he could do to convince her otherwise. "Yeah, I guess so. But did I mention that you and I could pull off a pretty good Padmé and Anakin? I mean, we got this pretty handsome guy who falls to the dark side, and I have been down that path before. Then we got his wife, who also happens to be pregnant..."
Kim looked away blushing, knowing what he was gonna imply to the rest of the scenario. But it was clearly not for others ears to hear. She shook her head, hitting reality again. She was clearly not one to be pulled into such a thing as that. "Don't tell me you're gonna drag me into seeing that movie?"
Tommy shrugged. "I get it if you don't wanna go. But if you don't, it could send me one step closer down the dark path again."
Kim pointed a wavering finger in his face, shaking her head. "No. Not one of those Jedi tricks. My brother does it to me all of the time."
"Really? I had no idea," Tommy smiled lightly. But it was his fault in the first place that her kid brother would manipulate her words and throw them back at her. And it usually worked, to help him get his way when need be.
"Hey, guys," another voice greeted the group of people by the Star Wars toy aisle.
Everyone stopped to look at Trent and Kira coming their way, hand in hand. But Kira had pulled him back as he almost lost his footing. It was clear that she had been pulled into, or was trying to get out of, the whole hype with the movie. He already had a small bag in hand to reveal a video game under the franchise of the movie.
She shook her head as she raced to greet her friends. "Please tell me there is at least one of you here who can back me up and say that this whole Star Wars thing is sorta pathetic." Conner and Kim raised their hands as she moved to their sides, only to realize they had been in a heated dispute over how good the movies were and how bad they were. A few raised voices from each side created more tension between the fans and those who could care less about what the movie is or has done for pop culture, as the three Jedi tried to explain what the big deal was about the feature film, but were still at a great loss.
"You cannot begin to tell me that you just don't see the hype of this movie," Trent protested.
"We don't. I've sit through every single one. I think I might have either fallen asleep or almost have through each one," Kira had to admit. She had said that her little brother was to blame for the hype, and didn't need anymore Jedi Knights running around with a plastic lightsaber talking about the Force in her life. She already had to deal with her brother and his friends running around the house acting like Jedi or Sith.
"Now, I know it's even wrong for me to say, but have you seen the guy who plays Anakin? Most girls find him to be very attractive," Ethan said.
Kira shrugged like she could careless, but perhaps she did have a secret crush on the man who will fall to the dark side in the final installment of the trilogy. She blinked away the thought, shaking her head again.
But soon enough, another line of protesting and arguing came over them, and it was hard to truly understand what either of them were saying. It was clear that Conner, Kim and Kira had not, and would refuse, to convert their ways in liking that movie. Which made Trent, Ethan and Tommy work just a little bit harder to get the trio to listen to them. The dispute had gone on throughout the entire time from the toy aisle, to the check-out line, and even out into the parking lot. And before they had realized it, they were all still arguing about it upon arrival at the Oliver homestead.
Each had absently taken in the groceries for the married couple, while continuing the dispute. After Tommy had realized what had happened, he let out a whistle that stopped everyone, the room falling silent. Everyone turned to look at him, shooting back into reality only to realize his same action. They had been debating for hours, and they had all somehow found themselves scattered throughout the living room.
"Why is it we're the ones stuck on one side of the dispute, and we got you guys on another?" Tommy questioned as he seemed to notice the segregation between all of them. The fans of the movie on one side, the ones who didn't care on the other.
"Yeah, remember Super Bowl weekend?" Ethan sighed. He shivered under the thought of their loss. He, Trent and Tommy had all placed their bets for the Eagles to win, and the other three had placed it in for the Patriots. Of course, he lost along with those two and had to go around the next day at school wearing Patriots memorabilia and signs stating something about they lost nearly everything to the bet and needed some change for lunch that day. It was a sad moment in his life, if not for Trent and Tommy as well. Luckily, they weren't the only ones in on bets. There were a few who had it worse, and others who didn't have it so bad, but they were among the losers.
"Wanna make a bet again?" Conner suggested as he looked over at the duo on his side. Each seemed to exchange ideas mentally.
"No," the trio shook their heads quickly.
"So, why not drop this while it's in the early stages of dispute?" Kira suggested.
"No. See, you just don't get it. This is the biggest thing to ever happen to anyone. It is less than two weeks until the release of the final episode..." Trent tried to say, but was cut off by Kim.
"And we could care less about it. So, it is gonna be a smash at the box office. Big deal." Kim shrugged.
Tommy looked over at his companions, before directing them out into the hall. He knew, as much as they did, that they would have to work a little of their Jedi/Ninja magic. But wasn't quite sure what or how. Trent could only tell them to follow his lead as they had went back into the room.
"How about we make some deals so we're all happy here?" Trent began. "We show you our world around Star Wars, and you show us something the three of you can agree on."
The P.E. teacher looked over at the red and yellow rangers, shrugging with her eyes as if it didn't seem to hurt to try, as much as she didn't want to. But she knew, as the duo, that this heated dispute wouldn't go away so quickly with the movie fast approaching. Yet, they could only hope that it would somehow pay off for the time they decided to hand over to the Jedi trio to show them the light of the Force.
"Time out, Trent," Kira thought for a moment. "You can't just expect us to show you like one movie versus the six you guys tend to show us. It wouldn't be fair."
"How else are you gonna see what we see if you don't go through all six of them?" Ethan countered.
And soon, another heated argument went down. For awhile, Serena had tried to play it off, take both sides of the conversation, but was siding more with her father. But as far as she could tell, she didn't like that she was stuck in the middle of this madness, especially if her parents had different views on the movie. She covered her ears from the noise, humming to herself, hoping to get rid of the tension. But it only seemed to get worse in her head. She tried to play it off, but it wasn't any good. She was struggling to keep her cool, but it didn't seem to work. She let out a scream, that placed a long silence on the room.
Everyone stopped to look at the little girl. A hand fell on her shoulder and soon another, only to realize that the hands of her parents rested there in comfort and concern. She didn't seem to realize it until now, but tears had streaked down her face as the dispute went on. The man pulled his daughter into a comforting hug, laying a kiss on her head and apologizing for the mayhem. He pulled his wife to his side, apologizing for his mishap, and hoping that they could all find some solution to this, hoping not to deal with another division on the team over a feud on a movie.
"Look what you guys caused," Conner stated looking over at the white and blue dino rangers, their heads immediately dropping with guilt.
"Don't put all the blame on them, Conner. It was all of us," Kira stated, defending the two guilty Jedi.
Tommy rose to his feet, holding the little girl in his arms, nodding. "Kira's got a point. We can't let a little dispute as this get over our heads. The last thing we need right now is getting divided again."
The four younger rangers all dropped their heads lower, knowing that their mentor was right. The last thing they needed was to get divided at a time like this. There had been no real attacks in the last few weeks, and the entire team could only conclude that Mindshatter was up to something big. That the epic battle which they had hoped would never come at all, was getting ready to be launched. They could only hope that they would be more ready for it than not.
"Let's call a time out and figure out what we can't come up with and meet back here in a few hours, all right?" Kim suggested. She looked over at the yellow and red rangers with a little wink. "I need to do some discussing with my fellow non-believers here."
Tommy knew that she was right, and had moved out to the room, to put her daughter to bed. She had seen enough drama for one day, and just needed some time to rest. When that was squared away, he had moved out of the house with Trent and Ethan following close behind.
XXXXXXXXXX
Island fortress.
The two psycho rangers had staggered about the main lab slightly weakened and shaken by the recent drain in their powers. Much of the lab had been left in ruins from the epic battle months ago with Mesogog, leaving Mindshatter to find other raw sources to obtain his dirty work; the two psycho rangers being one of the sources. But it would slowly be restored in time. They were like batteries, only needing to be recharged, and they would be set for battle.
But there was one problem, if not many, that Mindshatter had to relay. One of them was the loyalty he felt fell over Dinoshade and Mesogog. Staying in the protection of the shadows, they had done little for him, even if he had not requested it. He had hoped that he wouldn't have to tell them what their objectives were. It was pretty explanatory, but they didn't seem to see it that way. Or they were merely doing other things that he couldn't seem to understand, nor wanted to.
He had to set his plans on his final attack. He was ready for it. Needed to get to it, or the rangers would beat him to the punch about who would be the victor in this regime. And he never liked to lose. He hated to lose. He hated failure. He hated loss. He refused to let a bunch of humans come between him. They may have created him, but they would be on the ones to destroy him, and he would make sure of that. He wouldn't go down and prove to everyone that he was here to stay.
He looked over at the two psycho rangers, forming a new set of plans as he went along with it. He had to find a way to get this out into the open. The object he had held so closely in his possession, that would very well destroy the rangers for good. He just had to make sure that there would be no screw ups with this one. The other times just had one or two flaws that he had not liked and refused to look over. What was past was past and he had to move over his mistakes and be the bigger, badder villain.
Hidden in the shadows, melting in its secrecy, Dinoshade watched with interest as the work to create what appeared to be a weapon of some kind. He sunk to the ground, moving closer and listening intently to the words that had escaped from the universal soldier. But it was spoken in his foreign alien tongue. A language, that since his re-programming, didn't seem to make sense to him at all. And he wasn't sure if Mindshatter had sensed his presence and was using it against him, but he didn't like that he couldn't seem to pinpoint what the universal soldier was trying to do.
Mindshatter had opened up the chamber, a hiss of smoke fell out of it as the glowing green light inside began to dim. He pulled out the object, clenching firmly in his hands. But due to the darkness in the room was hard to distinguish. And as he moved away, the sight of the object could not be seen by Dinoshade. Mindshatter handed it over to the blue psycho ranger as he nodded and turned away, leaving the room. The yellow psycho ranger slowly followed after him.
Mindshatter was left alone in the comfort of the lab, until he stopped to look at the shadows. He held out a hand as Dinoshade found himself hit the ground before him, slightly confused at the impact and the feeling that Mindshatter was not surprised to find him spying. Dinoshade quickly got to his feet as he bowed low to his master, but Mindshatter had threw his hand to the other side, sending Dinoshade across the room by an invisible field.
"Do you dare to cross me in such a way to overthrow me, Dinoshade!" Mindshatter growled as he slowly walked over the robotic dinosaur. "For a long time I have played your game, watched you rot under my control, and after so long, you finally broke free from it. I know what Mesogog has done to you. And you can't expect me to believe that he can be saved or those other pathetic excuses for rangers. You will soon follow their path in destruction."
Dinoshade lowered his head, but at the last minute sprung to his feet, letting a power laser blast fly out of one of his arm guns toward the universal soldier. As if predicting the attack, the lead robot had moved away and launched his own electrical attack toward the robo-dinosaur. Dinoshade had no time to avoid it as he took it head on.
But due to his own pre-occupation with the robo-dinosaur, Mindshatter had not noticed the other figure who had entered the room. The dino menace, now more under the control of Anton, creapt into the darken corner where the five remaining candles stood, unlit. He knew he had to get to them, despite the shield around them. He had to get to them before they were lit or ever could touch the hand of Mindshatter again.
But he didn't get very far when he seemed to have hit an invisible wall and tossed across the room, smashing down on Dinoshade as he was about to get up. Mindshatter approached the two dinosaurs, glaring at them with blaring red eyes. He had retracted his spiky abyss of horns along his back in a line of anger over the two generals in his army.
"You will not win this battle. I will make sure of that," he growled as he pulled up his hand, pulling the two figures off the ground by this invisible force and sending them into the Geno-Randomizer.
The chamber locked on them, both too weak to move from their heap of pain. With another movement of his hand, the machine hissed to life, and the chamber began to fill with smoke, covering the two figures as they struggled to get out. But there was no way for them to get out or free from its torment.
Minutes passed, slowly.
After Mindshatter had worked around a panel of buttons, entering codes that didn't seem to make sense, nor really easy to decipher, his own thoughts and energy seemed to be faltered. It was locked onto the satellite system he had used as a transmission to relay images to his ship while he was in outer space. And for the time being, now on Earth, he had been configuring a program to use the satellite system as a sorta catalyst to shield the entire world in his own arms. He had already mastered to keep any information from leaving the atmosphere, shutting down any travel outside of it. But his next set of plans were even harder to accomplish as he tried to formulate the codes to set the next set of his plans.
Mindshatter found a place in his chair, where he thought briefly about his set of plans and failures, waiting patiently for the chamber to do its job. Due to his heightened knowledge with new age technology, he would make sure that those two had no chance in helping out their friends, even if they tried. He had also been tired of dealing with the two of them when they didn't seem to have the energy to do anything to satisfy him. It had upset him more to think he ever could trust anyone else to do his job to destroy any threat toward him. Even his own numbers in the cybot army were down, and he really had himself to take on the rangers.
"But only five remained," He had told himself many times. "Five will never stand a chance for what I have in store for them."
His eyes fell on the chamber as he refused to take his chances on the two figures hidden inside. With time, he would know when it was right to free his new creation and move onto his next set of plans. And the first trap was getting set by the psycho rangers.
XXXXXXXXXX
Trent, Ethan and Tommy had been casually walking around the mall just trying to pass time as they thought about what they could do to have their friends fall to their side of the argument. But even as they walked, they had thought back to the biggest battle they hoped would never come. Wavering over the thoughts that they may not be ready for it, despite the training they were getting.
"So, what do you think, Dr. O?" Ethan asked quietly, keeping his voice low to avoid any peering ears from listening.
"I think we have to keep our eyes open for anything right now. It has been far too quiet around here, and I don't like it," their mentor replied as he looked around the mall, having the feeling that they were getting spied on.
"I would agree. I mean, there hasn't been anything beyond a few battles with the cybots, but that was it. It wasn't a big deal, but now that I look back on it, it seems like they pull back for a reason," Trent shook his head.
"Gearing up for the final battle. That is the only reason for this silence from his side of the battlefield."
The trio continued on their walk, trying to push their thoughts away from being Power Rangers for just a second to formulate a plan toward their friends who could care less about their favorite movie of all times.
They soon moved into an Asian/Oriental like store; a display of bamboos greeted them as they entered. Fans of all sized filled the ways and other Oriental/Asian base decorative filled the store. Tommy had told the two that he had been eyeing a set of samurai swords he wanted to put in the study, even if Kim had not agreed to having the sharp objects anywhere near the house.
"That doesn't make sense for all the other things in the house. And it's not like it's gonna be within reach of the kids, right?" Trent asked as he looked at the scrolls seeking out a dragon to put in his room.
"Try telling that to the wife. She doesn't like to take 'no', and with as far along as she is with her pregnancy, it doesn't surprise me she's been as stubborn as she has been," Tommy sighed as he moved over to the counter where the Asian weaponry was locked behind.
He looked over the items, trying to figure out what exactly he wanted to get. Despite, his need of getting something for himself, he knew it would be wrong to. But he had to have it. He had to just get that set of samurai swords he had been eyeing for some time now. They were black with the design of a green dragon on it. And he just felt that he needed to get it before there would be no more. He looked around, hoping to find one of the people who worked in the store.
Then an old Chinese man stepped out from the back greeting him with a bow as Tommy bowed back in return. The older man had glasses, and seemed to be wise beyond a line of stories and wisdom for the younger generations. He was dressed in black dress pants with a white shirt and blue vest. He looked over at the man in black before looking up at the display of weaponry on the wall and locked in the glass.
"You interested?" the Chinese man asked in a simple statement.
Tommy nodded as he found his eyes lay on the very set of swords he had seen earlier in the month. The ones with the black covering with the green dragon on it. It seemed to reflect him in so many ways, and he just had to get a hold of it. He pointed them out as the older man moved to pull the display off the shelf and place it before him.
Tommy pulled out the longest sword turning it in his hands before pulling it out of the sheath to see the shiny sharp metal inside. He knew that this was one of only places in the city that could provide only the best in the Oriental/Asian culture. Trent and Ethan joined their mentor at the counter, eyeing the sword with their own affection. Each of them had their own interest in whipping up their own Oriental decorative collection.
From the back of the beaded curtains another figure emerged to greet the customers. It was a Chinese woman, much younger than the man, dressed in a typical yellow Chinese dress shirt with black dress pants that hugged against her small body. She didn't seem to look that much older than Tommy, if not the same age. She had greeted them with a smile, holding up a sword that seemed to have just been shipped in from a foreign land. Not sheathed, it shined in a brightness that seemed to catch Tommy's eye.
Absently, as if by calling of that new sword, he placed the samurai sword back on the display and moved over to where the Chinese woman had placed the sword on the counter. The sword in itself seemed to be cut into perfection as it slowly jutted away from the base of the handle and curve up and away. A little emerald-like gem was encrusted to the top of the blade. The handle was black with gold trimming, that if he wasn't mistaken could almost pass up as his brachio staff, with the design of a dragon intertwined with a tiger in its grasp. On the bottom was a ruby-like gem to finish it off.
For a moment, Trent and Ethan had gawked over the beauty of the blade, but had no words to really say what they thought of it. Tommy moved over it, running his fingers against the shiny metal, speechless. Mindlessly, he pulled up the sword, the handle in itself seemed to melt and find comfort in his hand like he had wield it his entire life. He swung it about, feeling a sense of power for holding it. There was a line of feelings he had yet to describe as he slowly moved it about in his hand. And he had not quite realized it, nor did the teens, that once he touched that sword, his eyes seem to glow with a hint of green.
"This is a very good buy," the accent of the Chinese woman spoke up with a nod. "It just came in today. And there is nothing else like it in the world."
"Seems to fit your grip just fine," the elder Chinese man nodded.
Tommy nodded slowly as he looked over at the Chinese duo and back at the sword. He didn't know, but it seemed like the sword was calling him to hold it in his grasp. To have it. And he felt like it was an extension of his soul as if the sword was always his. He almost felt like he has felt this way before, having great power, but couldn't seem to put his finger on it. He had to admit, though, he sorta liked it.
Within minutes, he had made the purchase, walking out of the store with his new prize.
The two store clerks watched him go as they retreated to the back of the store. All tied up on the floor were the two real owners of the store as the tow imposters dropped their disguise to reveal the very images of the blue psycho ranger and the yellow psycho ranger. They turned and left through the back entrance without saying another word.
XXXXXXXXXX
Billy, Hayley, Cam and Adam had been outside of the underground lab in the comfort of the woods trying out the latest weaponry. For the past week now, the care of the morphers had been entrusted to the technical directors as they began to program a new line of protection and weapons into each of them. But it wasn't easy. There was something different about their morphers, that the powers that were locked inside seemed to be on the only protection they needed, but weren't convinced.
Adam and Cam stood in the distance, swinging about the newly modified thundermax sabers, parrying and sparring. Now, glowing with what seemed to be a beam of light from both of them, one could literally call it a lightsaber. The distinctive color appeared blue and hummed to life with every swing, the energy from it, strong enough to cut through nearly everything. Billy and Hayley had fed the two of them with laser bolts and other flying objects, testing the durability of the laser swords. Each had cut threw the objects, absorbed the power of the laser or deflect its power seering the bark of trees as they flew through the woods.
They deactivated the power source, a crystal from the cave where Elsa found the source to drain their powers months ago, to its normal state. And with her hidden assistance to the team, she had helped them formulate a new line of weapons, powering up their weapons with something more. With her own background with weaponry, and the things she could remember from her time serving Mesogog, she was a great asset to the team and what they wanted to accomplish.
"Anyone ever heard of an actual lightsaber? This definitely isn't something CGI graphics are needed for. This is the real deal," Adam nodded looking over the saber in his hand.
"Do you think it is even wise for us to mention what we did to their weapons?" Cam asked as he handed the one he held in his hand back to Hayley.
Hayley looked over her new line of accomplishments, a smile to her face. With the flaws the technical team had gotten into regarding the weapons, they were getting closer to nailing the gun in its perfection. They had yet to modify the team's main weapons and look into some changes for their ranger suits as well. But they had not wanted to disturb the team until they were certain it was time to whip out the bigger artillery.
Billy held a device in his hand, running codes and programs to bring up energy readings in the hidden docking bay for the new bio-zords. He had been working closely with Cam to re-program the new zords, wondering and pondering how to create the megazord, if it ever came down to that. They were still missing the power source needed for the rangers to fully control the zords and they weren't quite sure what it was or where they could find it. They could only hope that they could find that source soon enough.
"So, what is the progress on the zords?" Adam asked sorta absently, but rather concerned for that project.
"Nothing yet," Billy shook his head. "We still haven't found a power source strong enough to keep the zords in check with their owner. After that experimental battle with them, they just can't seem to be functioning like they used to. The gems just aren't enough to power them up."
The technical team fell silent trying to figure out what they would possibly do next. With the weapons in constant check, and the fear that they wouldn't be ready in time for the epic battle, they didn't know what else wasn't ready for that big battle. Constantly, looking over their backs and trying to configure new equipment was harder to come up with at a time like this than before. There were so many things they had to keep in mind. Their enemy wasn't like those in the past and that's what worried them even more.
XXXXXXXXXX
Hours passed.
The three Jedi had returned to the Oliver homestead and as if on cue, Kimberly, Conner and Kira had been waiting for their return. Tommy had quickly retreated downstairs to hide his new prize sword, hoping that his wife wouldn't find him with it. He had refused to tell her of his recent purchase, and there was just something about that sword...
"Took you guys long enough," Kira had said as the trio entered the living room.
Tommy had absently walked passed all of them as he headed into the kitchen to get something to drink. Since he had left that Oriental store in the mall, he had felt a little different. He didn't know how or why, but it felt like something inside of him was changing. Manipulating him. His thoughts didn't quite make any sense to him, even if he tried to push it away. He collapsed on the recliner, a bottled water in hand with some Tylenol as he rubbed the side of his head.
The heated dispute had continued between the rest of them, but he didn't seem to pull himself into it. He could only watch, groaning quietly as the headache seemed to get worse. He wasn't sure why, but he had hoped that it was nothing more than lack of eating or drinking enough water.
The argument had went on for some time until finally Ethan had blurted out something that caused the rest of the team to stop and look at the dazed black dino ranger. For a moment, no one had said anything when Kim made her wave over to her husband's side, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, baby, you okay?" the woman asked quietly as she bent over to lay a kiss on his lips.
Tommy let out a breath as he shook his head. "I feel a little dizzy, and I'm not so sure why. Ever since we left the mall, I haven't been feeling so good."
"Now that you mention it, you look a little pale. No offense, Dr. O," Conner spoke up as he walked over to his science teacher.
Tommy shook his head as he groaned again, the pain returning as he lowered his head. Kim wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. She called out to him, but he didn't seem to respond. The other rangers slowly crowded around the two, but kept their distance as fear fell over each of them. They weren't sure what to make of the gesture, but didn't like he didn't seem to be himself.
A silence fell over the room as Tommy stopped, forcing air back into his lungs and looked around the room. His head no longer hurt, and it seemed like it was just his imagination. The others questioned if he was all right and he nodded in turn saying that it was just something that would pass in time. It wasn't a big deal.
And they had hoped that it was right, dropping any such thoughts of their previous argument and looking into their upcoming future. They had feared that Mindshatter was moving against them and fast, but had no clue how and hated the wait any longer.
To be continued...
A/N: I figured I would leave it as that. There is a lot I'm still trying to compile with this whole epic battle. I hope I can figure out something that you guys can agree with. But see you when I do. And what about that sword? Does it ring some bell for you? Look back at a few of the other past references I have made and I hope I will make sense. But until another time, see you when I do. And thanks for the reviews and readers. Later daze. And May the Powers Always Protect You. And may the Force be with you always.