SEQUEL TO: ORDINARY WORLD
SUMMARY: The world falls into a deep slumber as the final battle slowly unwinds. The dino thunder rangers can only turn to the Ninjetti team for assistance and if they fail, no one will wake up again.
DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I ust wanted to continue on with PRDT because there was a lot missing from it that fanfic can fill in. The sky's the limit. So, enjoy it.
A/N: So, you ready? I ain't gonna say much, but read on. Hope you like it. It was hard to develop.
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"I never thought that our finally battle was going to be a whole lot more of a challenge than expected. But no matter what,
we cannot give up or fall to his hand. We will prevail and we will be the ones holding the victory. Earth will never fall as long as we are around."-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
Sunday, May 8th, 2005. 8:30pm.
Tommy sat in the underground lab thinking quietly as he began to reflect on the past few months of his life. For the moments he had thought of his family-his daughter who would make him smile even in the worse of times, his wife who he loved with all of his heart, his unborn son and the possible thoughts of him upholding the traditions of being a ranger-happiness fell over him. He could never feel so happy and whole. Completed.
And he was glad that his team had settled the dispute over the whole Star Wars fiasco, as the trio had promised to watch the movies as much as the hardship of dealing with six plus hours of it. They would also have to play along with the whole Star Wars fanatic thing when the final movie came out in the following weeks. And in return, they would be tormented by their friend's requests. Trent and Ethan would get stuck being sparring buddies in Conner's soccer skills. Tommy would have to deal with a major shopping spree as well as spend some time in the kitchen trying to cook up something edible for the team. And with Conner's soft side, which the others didn't seem to realize he had, including Kira and Kim, forced the other trio into setting aside an entire day towards watching all of those sappy-romantic movies, which they weren't quite into.
But there was something else on Tommy's mind that night as he sat in the silence of the room. He knew that the technical team had worked hard to create a new line of weaponry, weapons that he had much to learn about. He had no idea what they would do, but hoped that they were worth it. But he didn't want to deny what the technical team did. They always seemed to pull through. But his concern laid in how their final battle would play out. He had no idea what was going on, or how their enemy was gonna approach it. And that's what scared him. He wasn't sure how far their enemy would go.
His eyes fell shut as the events of the previous day played in his head when he had bought that sword. He didn't know how to describe it. There was just something about it that he just couldn't clear his mind of. There was a calling to it. Forced him. Pleaded him. Begging him. To get that sword, and as he held it in his hands, swinging it about, he could feel its embrace fall into his mind. It was an extension of his soul. It had enlightened him with a whole new sense of power. It was indescribable.
But as he continued to keep his eyes shut, the painful images of his evil past played in his mind. Of his days as the first evil ranger, the day he thought he was the king to the Machine Empire, and the months where Mesogog had locked him up in his own set of evil plans. He was a pawn. A pawn in this game for the victory by both sides of the field. He had seen both sides of the field and he didn't like it. He hated it. His breath quickened as he tried to force it to stop, but the images seem to play faster as it struck him with an even bigger burden. Fear ran over his body as he pleaded for it to stop, but it just didn't seem to.
He found himself getting up and move to a hidden safe only he knew about at the other end of the room behind a display of dinosaur bones. He had slowly entered in the combination as he turned the knob and the safe opened. Tommy mindlessly pulled out the sword, freeing it from its sheath as he swung it about, grasping the handle as it melted into his embrace. A handle that was meant for his grasp alone. He felt the power behind the sword, the strength it seemed to possess.
For a moment, he felt the surge of evil rise up inside his body. His eyes glowed in a flash of green. He felt the power to destroy his enemies-in his friends. His purpose wasn't to serve Mindshatter, or was it? He seemed to re-calculate this new power. It was his alone. That once the other rangers were destroyed then he would move against Mindshatter and destroy him, taking the power to rule the world under what seemed to be the control of ... Mesogog? Or even for himself. It was too hard to tell.
He shook the images away as he heard footsteps from upstairs. He shot back into reality, slid the sword back into the safe, locking it and slid the bones in place to hide the safe. He retreated over to the main computer thinking quietly as he covered his face, catching his breath. He kept questioning himself asking why this was happening again. He knew what was going on, and didn't like it. Didn't want it to happen. He was becoming evil again, or so he thought, but it seemed like he just couldn't break out of it. He didn't want to, for some strange reason. Nor did he find the strength to tell anyone else about it.
"This is my battle," he told himself as he heard the footsteps on the stairs leading into the lab. "Come on, Tommy. This is yours. Don't let the others get involved."
"Involved in what?" another voice rang in his ears as he felt the arms wrap around him and a kiss was planted on his head. The woman he knew as his wife moved around to take a look at him, as he wrapped his arms around her. "Tommy? Handsome, is everything okay?"
Tommy caught his breath as he nodded, pushing the images of his evil past into the depths of his soul. He couldn't tell her. He didn't want to tell her, but he knew that she had a right to know. But he just didn't want to say it or find the real words to break it to her. "I'm okay. Just tired, Beautiful."
"Well, I figured," she nodded as she ran her hands through his spiky hair. She bent over and laid another kiss on his head as she felt him lay a few kisses on her stomach. "We need to get to bed. Gotta teach tomorrow, ya know."
Tommy nodded slowly as he sighed quietly. "Yeah, I know." He got to his feet as he laid a warm passionate kiss on his wife's lips. "Thanks, Beautiful, for always having my back."
"I'm here for you, baby. I won't leave you, okay?" she reassured him as she stood up on her tip-toes to kiss him on the lips.
Tommy wrapped his arms around her as they shared a moment in a hug and a series of kisses before heading upstairs and off to sleep. But Tommy still wasn't feeling like himself as he kept the headache to himself or the fear of being converted back to his evil ways. He had hoped that it was only the stress of the end of the year and nothing more. But as he dozed off into a deep slumber, the thoughts of destroying the other rangers played in his mind like a broken record. And he felt a line of rage run through him.
XXXXXXXXXX
7:00am, early morning. A few days later, May 11th, 2005.
The countdown was on until the teens could really say that graduation was within their reach. They had waited for more than half of their lives to feel the freedom from their young lives, and it was so close. But yet, so far. It was so much harder to grasp, especially fearing the powers of their newest enemy. A challenge in itself that they still had much to learn about, but was tired of dealing with it.
Conner and Ethan had walked through the school, trying to get the feeling that it was nearly over for them in only a matter of weeks. They just couldn't believe it. Their times in these hallways would merely be memories that they just wanted to leave. But weren't quite ready to do.
"I can't believe it," Conner breathed as he looked around the halls. "It's almost over."
"No kidding," Ethan nodded as he leaned up against the wall looking out at the other students, underclassmen with their own thoughts on graduation and moving on. "I just want it to end now."
The two graduating teens had to deal with too much in their lives as rangers, and at that moment, they could only hope and pray that those days before or after graduation wouldn't have to result in that epic battle they feared so much. They didn't know what to believe except that they just wanted it to end. They wanted to be normal teens again, or as normal as it could have gotten for a bunch of rangers.
Another figure came to join them, leaning against the wall beside the red dino ranger. Krista grabbed his hand looking from the two beside her to the other people in the hallways. For a moment, they had all fallen silent. Though, she still had much to learn about her place in the ranger circle, she didn't feel it was her place to get involved. She had to admit, it was a whole lot more burden off her shoulders for now knowing the truth, but she still felt a little betrayed for seeing that it took so long to hear the truth. But she didn't want that to stop what she already had with Conner, and glad to know that despite the times he wanted to tell her the truth, his commitment was true to being a ranger.
"After these last few months, I'm almost gonna miss this place. Or even all the mayhem we've been through," Krista had to admit as she began to recall all the memories of the past few months.
"I'm not sure I'm really ready to leave, ya know," Conner had to admit with a sigh. "I mean, these last two years have been bent around saving the world, and I almost felt like I never really went through my junior and senior year in high school."
Ethan thought about his friend's comment, and had to agree. He just couldn't believe that two years had gone by and his personal life had gone through a lot of changes. He had met new friends, faced new and unbelievable challenges, and even felt the sense of responsibility on an even grander scale. And here he was, on the brink of setting out into the real world, with a resume of several surprises. "It is a little hard to believe, but it has to end sometime, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Conner nodded.
"We must be prepared for wherever the road will take us, even if we're not ready to face it," Krista said recalling some of the inspirational words she had heard from the science teacher. She had come to acknowledge his words of wisdom, and had to admit that it was nice to hear them from time to time. As told by Conner, he had told her that the man had gone through a lot of hardship in his life, and he had learned a lot from each of his experiences. He had spread what he knew to those around him, always leaving a mark wherever he went. And that's what Krista had to admire about her science teacher. He would be well known in whatever he did and he was already on the top of everyone's list for staying in touch with in the future. He already left much behind in martial arts and his paleontology work, but there was so much more - more hidden talents - he had yet to release on the world.
"You know, you make that sound a whole lot easier than it is, and it really isn't," Ethan had to think through her words again. He knew that she was right, he just really didn't want to believe it. It was really hard to grasp for his own sake. That after two years of fighting, he may need to pass on his powers just like his mentor had done years ago when he gave up the Turbo powers. He wasn't quite sure if he could do it. He was more worried with if he had to and how well the next team would be when he was placed into retirement.
"I don't wanna scare you guys at all," Krista began as she saw the uneasiness in the two teenage boys. "I mean, I know it will be a big jump from what you're used to-what we're all used to- but it will be worth it in the end. It really will."
Conner and Ethan exchanged a look, but knew that she was right. That somewhere behind all of this mayhem, looking forward to the future will be worth all of the chaos, hardships, drama, etc. of living in the high school world of their lives. They wanted to move on, and knowing they had so many people behind them to support them, there was no way they were gonna stop here.
XXXXXXXXXX
Despite their status as Prom King and Queen, Kira and Trent still seemed rather reserved about their relationship in the public eye. There were times where they were holding hands, but that was well beyond where they were. Fellow students would catch them exchange a quick kiss in the halls before running off into class, but as they tried to ask the two about their relationship, they never said much. Or they would catch sight of the two holding each other in the comfort of shade at lunch, sit close, an innocence that so many didn't understand, and only so few did. They didn't seem to see a point in going beyond it. It was no one else's business to get up in their love life, and if they were ready to hit the public eye, they would. But they didn't want to rush into it right away. It just wouldn't seem right, even with the end of the year coming up.
Hand in hand, Kira's head resting on her boyfriend's shoulder, the duo walked through the halls talking quietly. They had gotten used to the stares their way, but had to admit, at times, they were a little uncomfortable with the sudden fame. It wasn't like no one knew about Kira's little musical gigs or Trent's artistic talents, but their status had rose a little more when their status as Prom Court for 2005 had hit the school. It seemed to be a really big deal. They just didn't like that factor. It made it seem like if anything even went wrong, and even now, the worse of rumors would come their way.
"We got an audience again," Kira sighed quietly as she whispered into Trent's ear.
Trent briefly looked around him to see conversations stop, eyes falling on them, making him shift uncomfortably. He never wanted to admit that all those stares were starting to freak him out, he just never liked them. From time to time, people would go up to the couple, start up a conversation and possibly create a new line of friends, but other times, no one would say anything. And that bothered him. If you couldn't say anything at all to their faces, why bother trying to make a scene by looking at them in the first place. "It's nothing new. I just wish that it wouldn't have to be such a big deal, but to them it is. Why are they so concerned about us?"
"Why are you letting them get to you?" Kira asked as she pulled his face to look over at her. She laid a quick kiss on his lips. "It's hard not to avoid what we have. But don't let them get to you, baby. There's no point trying to fight them for that one. The only thing that matters is that we are together and that we know the truth, right?"
Trent let a smile pass his face. With the many times he felt left out in the dust, it seemed like Kira found a way to bring him back in the race. He had to admit with the times he had talked to his mentor about his relationship with the singer, his mentor had told him that it would sound much like his own in high school. But it seemed that Trent and Kira had more time to get to know each other during high school than Tommy had with Kim, or at least as his mentor had put it. "Yeah, of course. Thanks, maganda (Beautiful)."
Kira had to admit, she blushed any time she had heard even one word come out of Trent's mouth in another language complimenting her. It was never bad, of course not, but the way he had said it or would say it seemed to touch her in places no one else ever really could. She even admitted it to Kim about how Trent would tell her sweet nothings in Tagalog, fluent speaker, or even Spanish, a four-year veteran and loved to hear them. She had admired Trent for a long time, giving him credit of dealing with what he has gone through and how well he managed through it. And with as much traveling as he has done in his day, he had been able to pick up a few things from other cultures and languages, too. And with his status as an artist-and now as Prom King-he seemed well-rounded enough to interact with anyone, if he really wanted to.
Trent looked over at his girlfriend, noticing the silence, worry falling over him. Did he say something wrong? What bothered her? And why was she so quiet? "Hey, you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm cool." Kira blinked and nodded when she felt his lips brush up against hers briefly. She turned to look at him as they came to a halt around the corner to grasp the moment for themselves. She had framed his face in her hands as they shared a little more passionate kiss in the shadows of the dimmed hall. But it ended quickly when someone had cleared his throat behind them.
The two blushed for a moment, knowing who it was and hated that he would do it on purpose only to annoy them. They had quietly exchanged "I love you's" as Kira peered over Trent's shoulder to see their science teacher standing there almost like a gate, shielding them from the questioning eyes of others.
"Why do you do this on purpose, Dr. O?" Kira had to ask as she looked away, never getting used to their mentor's quick appearances out of nowhere. She swore half the time he really was spying through invisibility, which they felt was totally unfair to their privacy.
The science teacher shrugged as he noticed some of the watchful eyes of their peers. "Sometimes, I don't do it intentionally. I just run into you two or Conner and Krista, and I gotta keep you guys in check. I'm not trying to be rude at all, Kira."
"You sure make it seem like it sometimes," Trent sorta mumbled, but he knew his science teacher had heard him as he turned to see the teacher's raised eyebrow. "I mean, it's nothing personal to you, Dr. O. I'm sure you had your own share in these disruptive moments."
"Yeah," their science teacher nodded. "It'll never change. Trust me." He pointed to the ceiling counting down quietly as the bell rang to call in the start of another school day. "But it seems you guys need to get to class. I'll see you in a few, Trent. And catch you later, Kira." The science teacher flashed them both a peace sign and left them alone.
They exchanged another quick kiss before heading up the hall as Trent escorted his girlfriend to class.
XXXXXXXXXX
Island fortress.
Mindshatter had sat silent in his chair thinking deeply about what he was about to do. He knew that he had waited a long time to do this, and there had to be no mistakes. There was no chance of mistake. This was the biggest battle he was about to face against his enemies, and he would do whatever it took to do it.
He had waited far too long to do this. He had prepared. Worked slowly, building up his remaining foot soldiers to run the game. He had hoped that he could tire out the team more than need be. That by the time they would face him and his newest creation, they could stand no chance against him. But first, he had to work out his own magic of mind control and his knowledge with the technology of Earth.
The blue and yellow psycho rangers stood beside him awaiting their own set of instructions and information on the battle. They wouldn't argue with him, but would only obey his command as they had hoped. They could only trust that he knew what he was doing and how far he would go to pull off a victory.
The universal soldier turned his head, his eyes glowing in a fiery red glare as his gaze fell over the Geno-Randomizer and the prize still hidden inside. For nearly a week now, the machine had been kept running, setting up the power and evil he was hoping to tap into. "They are merely an experiment for the return of our evil ranger." He turned to the psycho rangers questioning them to make sure if they really did pull off their part of the first set of plans.
They had nodded in turn, not wanting to argue with him at all. As far as they could tell, that sword in which the black dino ranger had purchased was far more powerful than they had thought. And it was important for him to get a hold of it. And with its calling and the way he had held it in his hand, it was almost as if he had held such power before. They didn't quite know how, or know the full background of their enemy in the black dino suit, but they knew and felt the rage for his destruction. He had destroyed two of their comrades already, they didn't want to be victims in his rage to destroy his enemies.
Mindshatter clenched his fists as his eyes glowed bright red with rage. He raised his fists into the air, barking out a command. "Let the battle begin."
He threw out his hand to the main computer by telekinesis, he had moved levers and pushed buttons entering in codes and saw the screen blink with a line of code. Blaring alarms fell over the entire room and then an image of Earth came on the screen. He watched as the shield created around the Earth through the satellite system had changed colors, set from blue to red, the shield acted as a coat over the entire planet. There was no way out of it or in it.
Mindshatter hissed with satisfaction as he watched the percent on the screen increase, waiting for it to hit maximum capacity, at 100. On a set of screens beside his chair, he watched as his victims, the human race, seem to slowly daze off.
"It has begun, Power Rangers," Mindshatter growled.
XXXXXXXXXX
Minutes later.
Trent had sat rather dazed in AP Biology as his science teacher began to file out more information about the animal kingdom. It was clear that he really didn't care at all. By the end of the week, they would know all they needed to know to study for their final in the class. Their last science final in their high school careers, and they were rather happy for it. Dr. Oliver had promised the seniors that he would give it to them early, the following Monday, so they would have more time to just hang out in their final week of high school.
But when Dr. Oliver had gotten tired of seeing the heavy eyes of his students, he slammed his pointer into the chalkboard, catching their attention, but only for a brief moment. The rest of the students seemed to drop their heads a little more as they rested them against their hands, trying to stay up. Trent had stood up straighter as he rubbed the dazed feeling out of him, averting his eyes onto his teacher.
"I know it's a Wednesday, you guys, and you got a little under two weeks left, and you could careless about what I'm saying right now, but this is getting a little out of hand. Was there some big huge senior party last night and you all went and just didn't get any sleep?" Dr. Oliver had to blunt about the situation. He swore there would be a few students falling asleep, but not all of them.
"Why do you even bother with us anymore, Dr. Oliver?" Jon asked as he raised his hand, but dropped it quickly as he yawned. "You know senioritis has hit us faster than you could name all the phyla in the animal kingdom."
The science teacher removed his glasses as he looked over the ten students in his first hour AP Biology class. It just didn't make any sense to him. They were all looking a little more tired than usual, but it seemed to not affect Trent as much as it did the others. For a moment, he had averted his eyes to the skies outside, watching as he swore to see a faint red grid cast over the sky and disappear. He winced quietly as he felt a sudden rush of pain shoot up his arm as he caught himself against his desk. He let out a breath and groaned as he shook it away, hoping it was nothing.
"Well, there are a few of us who are in AP English who gotta finish reading a novel by the end of the week, Dr. Oliver," Kevin stated.
"And I don't understand how you guys can be multi-tasking by reading that book and listen to me at the same time...," the science teacher said as he shook his head. "Actually, you probably aren't paying attention to me or really reading, but make it look like you are just so I won't rat on you for falling asleep in class. And I guess that's okay, but even with these two weeks you got left, you can still flunk a class."
"But we all basically have a good grade in here," Jennifer yawned as she wrapped an arm around her boyfriend, laying her head on his shoulder.
"Actually, I got a few of you, I won't name who, with a borderline grade. I don't pass you if you get a D in this class," the science teacher stated. He held up a hand to stop the protests from starting. "I don't care if this is an AP class. You guys are seniors, and I refuse to see anyone with a D in my class. If you do, I will flunk you. That's my policy, not the school's, I know. But you decided to take this class, and I make the rules for it."
The students fell silent, despite the feeling of needing to go to bed. They were tired. They all were, except for Trent and the teacher, himself. Soon, four of them just couldn't seem to hold on anymore and hit the table. But only moments later, one by one, the rest of the students followed. Trent had already gotten off his chair as the science teacher moved from his place behind the desk to the sleeping teens. The duo exchanged a look as they slowly checked for a pulse on two sleeping figures. For a moment, they thought they might have died, but they were only sleeping. In a deep slumber as Trent tried to shake his friend Calvin awake, but he didn't respond. But their pulses were slower than usual for someone sleeping, and they all felt cold, looking a little pale.
"There's something wrong here," Trent began as he backed away, fear running over his body, as he moved toward the door.
The science teacher nodded slowly as he followed the teen in white out into the hall. They moved over to the next science room, seeing the motionless, sleeping figures. Rushing over to check for a pulse, the beat of their heart was very slow. It was almost like their battery had run out, and they were in need of a recharge. They rushed over of the sleeping room peering into other rooms to see the same fate as the others in the hallway. They raced up the hall in a panic.
There was a major problem. And they knew as a sinking feeling fell the two of them. They heard the echoing footsteps from up the hall as they saw the red, yellow and blue dino rangers heading their way. Their own faces were lit with fear and worry. In the silent hall, a motionless sleeping body here and there sprinkled it as they came to a halt in front of the science teacher's classroom.
"What's going on, Dr. O?" Kira asked as her breath slowly came back. She had reached over to grasp her boyfriend's hand, despite the seriousness in their status as heroes, they were freaked. They all were. Something was not right about all of this.
The man in black shook his head. "Guys, I think we're about to face our biggest battle against Mindshatter."
"But the technical team isn't ready with our morphers," Conner protested. He knew, as did the others, that they were still in need of getting their morphers back. The technical team had them in their possession for some time, and would be returning it to them by the end of the week. But they were also glad because it brought them back into the reality of thinking about being normal. But now, it wasn't. It was time to get a little serious about the situation and gear up for a new line of events.
"So, what about everyone falling asleep, Dr. O?" Ethan asked. "Do you think it's apart of Mindshatter's plan?"
The science teacher nodded his head. "I think it is, and it is clear that something is wrong. Mindshatter must have placed some sorta sleeping sleep on the city, if not Earth itself."
"So, why aren't we affected?" Conner asked.
"Ranger powers. It's protecting us against it, which brings me to question," Tommy thought for a moment. He pulled out his cell phone, but noticed that it was out of service. He instructed his team to pull out their own cell phones...
"But we're not allowed to have our cell phones out during school," Ethan protested. "Only before and after school outside..."
"Do you see anyone here to stop you?" Kira asked him, shaking him back into reality.
Everyone else in school was fast asleep. Their mentor had instructed each of them to check in on the other rangers residing in Reefside, but they all had no service on their phones either. None of them would be getting a reply from anyone. And it made their stomachs sink even more. They didn't want to believe that they were the only ones left to fight Mindshatter. But with no responses, it made it worse. They would have no assistance where they knew they needed it the most. And they prayed that it wasn't true. But they had to do what they had to do to get it done.
But first, they had to get to the underground lab and get their morphers back. Then figure out where to go from there. They could only hope that they knew what they were about to face.
XXXXXXXXXX
The dino team had made it back to the Oliver homestead at speeds no one could describe. But with a city in siege by Mindshatter, there was no one to stop them. No police. No other civilians. The streets were quiet, but rather hard to get through considering the sleeping figures in cars. Horns echoing throughout the city where people hit the horn as they dozed off. People lined the sidewalks as another chill would fall over the team. They never felt so alone in a world they were protecting. No one was there to witness their battles, and they had no idea how far Mindshatter was willing to go to get his way.
Racing into the house, Tommy bolted through the house in search of his wife. She had been feeling a little ill that morning and called in sick. He had hoped that she was in the house, but didn't want to face the fact that she was asleep when it looked like she was more dead. He called out her name as he raced to their bedroom, but found no one there.
The teens were already moving to the stairs in the study when they heard a few steps from within the lab coming up their way. As the latch fell open and the hidden door moved, both sides fell into a defensive stance despite the screaming that came from each end.
The red ninja ranger nearly fell down the stairs, but Adam grabbed him before he could fall. Each of them caught their breaths as they stepped out into the study to greet the teens. Both of them were donned in the newly modified ninja suits, which they had not worn in several months. The teens were just as freaked, still catching their breaths and relaxing a little to see the two ninjas standing before them.
"We thought you guys might have fallen asleep too with the rest of the city," Conner stated as he felt his breath returning.
"We thought you guys might have, too," Rocky said. "But it isn't just the city, it's the entire world."
"What!" the teens breathed.
Footsteps echoed throughout the hall as an out of breath Tommy nearly collapsed into the study as the black ninja and the white dino ranger grabbed him. For a moment, his head was spinning with the thoughts of his evil past but he shook them away quickly.
Adam tapped him on the chest catching his attention. "Relax, Tommy. Kim's downstairs with the rest of us."
The team slowly moved out of the study and into the underground lab. The teens could only question what the medical doctor meant by the rest of them, but could only find the other ninja rangers there. No one else. No other ranger. Not even their technical director who worked the cyber cafe in her free time. Just the ninja rangers. And when Tommy had cleared the final set of steps, Kim had rushed over pulling him into a tight hug as he laid a kiss on her lips. For a brief time, they had spent the moment grasp in each others arms, but as soon as the blue ninja began to explain the situation, they turned back into serious mode joining the rest of the team at the main computer.
"I've been running a diagnostic over the past hour since the city began to fall asleep," Billy stated, but shook his head. "I've concluded that Mindshatter has somehow used the satellite systems to act as a sorta catalyst to start up a sleeping spell that has hit the entire world."
"So, everyone else in the world is asleep? Including the other rangers?" Ethan asked as he looked over the codes on the screen. It was clear that Billy was limited to what he could and couldn't do, most of the communications were down. Satellite images were scrambled. Technology seemed to be on a stand still except for the few devices left in the lab itself.
"That's what I noticed," the technical director nodded.
"So, why weren't you guys affected?" Conner asked as his gaze fell on the red ninja ranger standing beside him.
"Ever heard of cryogenic sleep?" Billy asked as Ethan nodded, but the others still seemed confused. "It seems that Mindshatter sent a sorta shield to shut down the Earth and put them into it. Temperatures have already dropped almost ten degrees throughout the entire world. It's almost like he is setting up another ice age..."
"Time out. It still doesn't answer my question about how you guys aren't asleep, but the rest of the world is," Conner protested.
Ethan had exchanged a look with his friend in white, who he knew was a fan of the sci-fi era. And as they seemed to exchange thoughts mentally, they seemed to make sense of the situation more and more as the information was filed out. Let alone, they were rather the only other experts in the field of new age technology.
"'They say most of the brain shuts down in cryogenic sleep'..." Rocky began quietly as his eyes fell on the blue dino ranger.
"'All but the primitive side,'" Ethan and Trent seemed to voice in unison as they shook their heads as if it was second nature to what was going on. Ever since their powers had been combined with the other powers, the ninja powers included, they had grown accustomed to a whole new world.
"'The animal side'..." Tommy finished as he overheard their comment. "So, that's why you guys didn't fall asleep. The primitive side of you is keeping you awake."
Aisha smiled as she patted the man in black on the back. "Gives us a new name for having these ninja powers. I mean, we might have fed up some of that ninja knowledge into these guys, but that whole spiritual thing/primitive side will always be ours."
"I can tell," Conner sighed hoping they wouldn't get anymore complicating than that. He already felt lost in the entire situation, and had to go about his best judgment when it came to figuring out what was really going on.
"Now, before we can make any real conclusions about what is going on, I'd like to break it to you that most of the technology around this lab has shut down. It will do us no good in battle," Billy instructed as he moved to a metal casing box. He pulled it open, tossing the dino rangers back their morphers. Each in turn returned it to their respective place on their wrist. He moved to another box beside it, pulling it open. "Now, these have yet to work at all. Of course, we all know that the original power coins were destroyed. But Hayley, Cam and myself have been working around trying to reconnect a link to morphing, if not give us some added protection in battle," He opened it up to reveal six other morphers donned with the heads of the ninja rangers' animal spirit, similar to the dino morphers.
The ninja rangers moved over to the box, each gawking over the design to their designated animal spirit. It was all side shots of their given animal, and it was clear none of them had expected this at all.
"Don't tell me you knew this was gonna happen and had these waiting?" Rocky asked as he reached over and grabbed the morpher marked with the head of an ape.
"Just in case. You could never be over-prepared for anything," Billy shrugged as he lifted the case off the table, turning to the rest of his teammates. The other ninjas slowly retrieved their respective morpher, looking it over in their hands, falling silent.
"But I thought you guys can't morph at all. The morphing grid was tampered with," Kira began as she looked over at the two other females in the room. The look in their eyes was of confusion and fear, but of eagerness to help join the battle. But Kira had to admit, she was a little worried about Kim since she knew exactly what her husband's reaction would be to it.
"Exactly," Bill managed to say with a smile. "But what Mindshatter and many evil beings don't realize is what power we hold as ninja rangers. We were, after all, fused with the knowledge of the ancient ninja as well found our primitive sides, which needs no morphing grid to work. With these, it will protect us in battle. I mean, it's not the nice fancy suits you guys got, but the power in these things will be better suited if we go into battle."
"This is a lot to take in," Aisha had to admit as she moved over to her friend in pink's side. She had locked an arm around the woman's arm, comforting her with the fear of not joining in battle. She had seen the look on Tommy's face the moment that case was opened, he wasn't too happy at all.
But the team had fallen silent as their eyes averted to the black dino ranger, now holding two morphers in his possession. He had looked at the one marked with the falcon on it with fear and confusion. The other dino rangers had walked over to him, wondering what he would do with such power. The numerous occasions where power was almost undescribable and indestructible. And he had seen power on scales no one else could describe but him. He was, after all, apart of the original prophecy as the sixth and most powerful ranger to the team.
"Man, T, you really got stuck teetering on the edge now, didn't you?" Rocky managed to say, hoping to lighten the mood in his friend, but he was still upset. The red ninja took a step back saying nothing more.
Tommy shook his head as he fixed the other morpher to his right wrist. He turned his attention to the trio of woman who seemed to question most about the status of the pink ranger on the team. "I will not risk it, Kim. If this is really leading up to the final battle, then you are to remain here in the protection of the lab. You're grounded."
"Now, time out, Tommy," Aisha protested as the pink ranger turned away, saying nothing more. It was clear that she didn't want to argue with her husband's words, but Aisha wasn't gonna have it that way. She refused to see it end like this, after all this time to ground Kim despite what these morphers could provide for them. "You can't just go off and say that. She is just as much a help to us as anyone here."
Billy took a step forward, but was rather bashful to state what was on his mind. "Now, hang on, Tommy. With these morphers, it will enhance our ninja powers. Meaning, it will almost be like Kim wouldn't be pregnant. She'll be able to move about like any one of us here."
Tommy shook his head, not listening to the gestures made by his friends. "No. End of story. Kim will remain here until the battle is played out. I don't care how bad it is. She's not going out on that battlefield no matter what. There will always be the 'what if's' in life, ya know. And you said that these things were only experimental, meaning they could possibly destroy you guys in the run, too." The man turned to the medical doctor shaking his head. "Adam, you remember what happened last time you tried to morph with a broken coin..."
"But, Tommy, that's not the point," Adam shook his head. "That was the actual ranger suit. If you look back at every battle we've faced since then, the suit itself didn't exist. Only our ninja suits. And didn't you hear what Billy said. These things aren't exactly like the morphers. They'll only provide us the protection we need to help you in battle."
The teens exchanged a line of looks, making it clear that they knew this argument would go on longer than expected. But what could they say that would convince their mentor and predecessors that this was the world in their hands. They had to get down to business, but how far? Satellite images were down and even if they tried to figure out where the Psycho Rangers were gonna attack, or the cybots, or even Dinoshade and Mesogog, they would have no idea where to start. They were on their own for that. But they had a job to do.
And due to the dispute over the older rangers, it had the young teens ponder even more if they would ever turn out that way. That they just couldn't find a way to agree years down the road, bickering in ways adults seemed to do. But getting older always has its disadvantages as well as advantages from time to time.
The red dino ranger took a step forward, clearing his throat. And when that didn't work, he whistled, calling attention to the older rangers. "Look, I get that this is all a matter of protection and all, but right now, we got to think about the rest of the world here, too." He turned to look at the technical director dressed in blue. "Billy, do you have any other vital information about this cryogenic sleep the world is under?"
Billy took his place at the main computer, running codes and a series of keywords bringing up what he could. He shook his head as he turned to look at his teammates. "As far as I could tell is if we fail to bring down Mindshatter, no one else may ever wake up again."
"That's not a good selling point," Rocky stated as he became more serious about the situation.
"Of course not," Adam shook his head. "That's exactly how Mindshatter wants it."
"Did we ever figure out why Mindshatter never found it in his heart, if he has one, to not destroy the people of Mirinoi?" Kira asked, one of many questions that was bothering her for the longest time. And as her young teammates looked over at her, it was clear they, too, were wondering what the answer to that question was, among many others.
Billy shook his head, sadly. "Unfortunately, I have no clue. And we probably never will."
"What we need to focus on now, is on the here and now," Tommy instructed. "My guess is that Mindshatter is gonna play with our minds. Set up tricks and force us to face our biggest fears to disrupt us from battling. So, we gotta be prepared for anything. For now, I request that the ninja rangers stay here until we can scout out the city and find out if Mindshatter has made any other moves."
The older rangers didn't find it right to argue with him. He may have been strict when it came to giving orders, especially when he truly meant it, and none of them wanted to make the situation any worse than it already was. But they could only hope that they knew what he was doing and why. The legendary ranger turned to his teammates, instructing them to morph.
Tommy followed suit as Conner instructed the teens to lift their morphers into place, giving out the morphing call to their ranger powers. "Dino Thunder! Power up!"
"White Ranger! Dino power!" Trent announced his own call.
And when the light had cleared from the five rangers, they stood in the lab suited up for battle. For the moment, they watched as their suits began to glow to life as a new power seemed to fill their bodies and mind. Since the work done by the technical team, the dino rangers didn't have the chance to see what modifications had been made. Their suits, all and all were still looking shiner despite the many battles they had faced. They turned to the ninja rangers, who had nothing much to say to their young successors. But they could feel the new power inside them.
"Billy, keep us informed if you can," the black dino ranger stated as the team left the lab.
XXXXXXXXXX
On their respective vehicles, ATVs and cycles, the dino rangers came to a halt in downtown Reefside. Getting off, they began to look around at the motionless, sleeping bodies and the immediate area. But as they moved, there was a sense of sickness and loneliness in each of their hearts. They felt like if they failed ... no, if they did fail, no one else would wake up again. And even they might be destroyed in the long run of the battle. They had to face the responsibility of being heroes, and up to this point, they were almost wishing they weren't the ones with the powers to do it.
Tommy looked over at his young teammates, sensing their loneliness, fear, worry and mixed feelings boiling in each of them. He had to admit that he too, was scared. And as he tried to stable himself, it felt like once he had morphed, a new side of him had taken over. A side he just couldn't seem to control and didn't like. But he couldn't reveal it to his team. They would plummet just as far as he did if they knew what was going on in his mind. This was his battle, but one that would have to wait. He had to focus on what was going on right now.
"C'mon guys, I know what you're thinking. Don't be discouraged. You'll be dealing with a lot of pressure in your life, but you gotta remember that it is these battles and pressures will only make you a stronger person," the black dino ranger spoke up.
"You can't expect that to be entirely true, Dr. O," Ethan had to admit as a heavy sigh fell from his lips. "After all the battles we've faced, I don't think there could ever be one that matches up to this. I mean, this is some serious stuff. Look around..."
"But Dr. O's got a point, Ethan," Kira stopped her friend from saying anything more. "This will be hard. But we gotta job to do. There's no one else here to protect the planet."
"But if we fail..." Conner let out a breath.
The black dino ranger cleared his throat walking over to his team. "Don't do this guys. I know we're all feeling a little freaked about all of this. But this is exactly what Mindshatter is trying to do to us. This is just phase one of his plan. By making us believe that we won't win. Hang in there, guys. Keep your heads up and don't let him get to you at all."
"Speaking of that..." Trent stated as his eyes were directed toward the shadows.
The team's gazed followed suit with the white ranger as they saw a line of cybots emerge from one darken alley. Five more appeared from another alleyway, and soon another set. As the team frantically looked in front of them to the ones behind them, they were surrounded by the foot soldiers, all with weapons raised and aimed at them. Switching positions, the team stood back to back, weapons drawn waiting and watching. Sweat beaded down their faces as they waited. They slowly moved, back to back, watching the foot soldiers and waiting for their attack. But they didn't seem to budge right away, and that's what was making them nervous.
"I'm counting about 30 of them," Ethan replied. "Anyone have any other comments regarding this could very well be the remains of his foot soldiers?"
"I'm right behind you on that, Ethan," Trent nodded as he let a breath escape his lips. "And they don't look at all easy to defeat."
"Do you think Mindshatter charged these guys up to the max to give us a real run for the money?" Conner asked as his grip tightened on his blaster.
"How about we don't find out and move now?" Kira asked hoping it was their cue to move.
"No." the black dino ranger shook his head. "Wait for them. We won't attack until they do. Keep your eyes open for anything else."
But out of nowhere, two streaks had entered the battle, striking the rangers as they tried to attack, but missed every time. A punch there and a kick there sent the rangers flying around like ping pong balls as they hit the ground wincing and groaning in pain. When they finally found the strength to move, they looked up to see the blue and yellow psycho rangers standing before them. For a moment, the teens were frozen in fear. If they were already dealing with 30 cybots, they didn't need to have the psycho rangers on their tails either.
Tommy pushed out a painful breath as he got to his feet, gripping his arm. He glared at the two psycho rangers despite the helmet that shielded his facial expressions. But it was clear he had had enough of the psycho rangers and their reign of mayhem on the team. They had to go. He pulled out his brachio staff approaching the two unmoved evil rangers. Without even looking back at his teammates, he instructed them to take care of the cybots. "Guys, take care of the cybots. These two are mine."
The teens were about to argue with him, but had already gotten caught up in a crossfire with the army of cybots. Conner and Ethan had rolled over to the left while Trent and Kira and rolled to the right. In an instant, laser fire and arrows flew from the four dino rangers as they moved against the cybots. But the cybots seemed to move faster, moving between the blasts as they bombarded the four teens forcing them back.
They hit the ground groaning in pain, feeling the rush of anguish fall over them. They didn't want to be defeated by a group of cybernetic soldiers with a soul purpose to destroy.
Conner winced under the pain as he slowly got to his feet shaking his head. "We can't let them win!"
Trent pushed him aside just as another line of laser fire fell their way. "How can we defeat them if they don't even understand when to stop until they've accomplished their goal?" They were shielded behind a building catching their breaths.
Kira and Ethan pulled out their thundermax sabers watching it glow brightly in their hands. And when Ethan had extended out his hand, the saber began to hum and light up to a bright blue. For a moment, he was frozen in the thoughts of what the weapon was doing. And when a line of fire came their way, he deflected shots, sending them back toward the cybots. A few of them fell over, but more came where the others fell.
"Is that what I think it is?" Trent looked over at him.
Ethan breathed as he looked over the saber again. It began to hum as he swung it about, and as the laser fire continued to come his way, as if by an invisible force, guided him through the bolts as he parried and deflected the shots back toward the cybots. They were going down, but within minutes, they had recovered.
Kira was about to touch the blade of the saber, but Trent stopped her warning her that the power behind it could slice through her like nothing. Kira followed suit, helping her teammate out, but could not believe what was going on.
"Dude, this is practically a lightsaber," Ethan nodded as he zoomed past two approaching cybots. He cut through them like they were butter as they collapsed to the ground in a heap of scrap metal.
Trent stopped short as he used his laser arrows to avert attention away from him. But he had seen what happen when the two cybots fell to the hands of Ethan's saber. And he watched as Kira had done the same to two more. Conner had used his blaster and whipped it into saber mode as he saw it glow to life in a high energy of power. And when Trent had looked down at his own drago sword, concentrating on the powers of the gem, he watched it glow to life and die out. In a fluid movement, he launched another set of laser arrows that cut through the cybots, leaving them with holes as they hit the ground, three more down.
"Whoa!" Trent breathed as he caught the blow from one cybot as he went into hand-and-hand combat with it.
On the other side of the area, Tommy had moved against the two psycho rangers at speeds no one could really describe. He could feel the power of the falcon guide him through the battle as he used the wits of his dino gem to keep him from never losing his stride. He worked around their attacks, using his ninja powers and invisibility to his advantage.
But where he had hoped for the psycho rangers to fall, they didn't seem to. They were moving just as fast, keeping him on his guard all the time. He had no chance to catch his breath, and with two strong and powerful beings going up against him, it seemed harder for him to keep up. And he was still had a disadvantage. He just wasn't as fast as he was years ago. But then again, his powers now couldn't even compare to what he had in the past. His powers now were guided by more than just the black dino gem, but his falcon spirit. The pure white light of the tiger and even the hint of rage from his dragon powers.
The blue psycho ranger finally caught a hold of the black dino ranger, locking him in his embrace as the yellow psycho ranger moved against him, sending out attacks that sent the black ranger to his knees. Upon the impact, he let out a painful breath as he collapsed to the ground before the two psycho rangers.
"Pathetic," the psycho rangers bellowed as they moved toward the black dino ranger.
"Dr. O!" Kira cried out as she seem to see the motionless body of her mentor lay before their enemies. She zoomed past the cybots, swinging about her thundermax lightsaber sending two more to the grave. She let out a ptera scream sending the two psycho rangers back as she raced over to her fallen mentor. She helped him to his feet as he let out an exhausted breath. "You all right?"
Tommy nodded slowly. But his thoughts were suddenly jumbled when the two psycho rangers moved against them. He pushed Kira aside kicking the yellow psycho ranger to the ground, but locked arms with the psycho blue. They fought in close hand-to-hand combat but at the last second, Tommy let out an invisible force that sent psycho blue flying several feet into the air. Tommy let out another breath as he collapsed to the ground, his vision blurred as Kira wrapped her arms around him, pulling him to his feet. It was clear she could sense his weakened self, but had not known why, and was only trying to protect him.
"C'mon, Dr. O. Stay with me," Kira pleaded as she dragged him behind the comfort of a car.
Tommy winced as he felt the ground on his back. Pain shot up his entire body as the yellow dino ranger stood over him, trying to keep him awake. But for some strange reason, he was growing weaker as the battle went on. He had no idea why, but could only conclude that it had to do with the battles he had already faced throughout his years. And it was only that.
Kira shielded the man for only a minute as laser fire fell their way. She pulled out her saber, swinging it high deflecting shots and sending them back the way they came.
"Go, Kira. I'll be fine," the black dino ranger stated as he slowly got to his feet. He used the car as a support beam, and it was clear that Kira didn't want to leave her mentor behind. But had to take his word for it; her other teammates needed her help.
She nodded in turn, wished him luck and turned to rejoin her young comrades in battle. Tommy forced air back into his lungs as he felt the strength return to his legs. But he didn't get very far when the familiar faces of the psycho rangers appeared before him each holding a stance waiting for his move.
"You know, I am sick of the two of you," Tommy growled. "Why don't you just give up now?"
"We can't do that, Black Ranger," psycho blue replied darkly.
"We have our orders. And we must follow them," psycho yellow stated.
"You really don't want to mess with me," Tommy shook his head. He pulled out his brachio staff again, feeling its grip melt into his hands as he swung it about. For a moment, he watched it glow to life, but there was something else about it. A power that seemed to fill his entire body with the strength he needed to end the very existence of the psycho rangers for good.
XXXXXXXXXX
Underground lab.
Billy had gotten the traffic cameras to work toward his advantage, but there was still a lot of bugs to work out. The satellite images were no match to fix or obtain even if he tried. He would have to get in the mainframe network on the island fortress. The rest of the ninja rangers could only watch from behind his skilled fingers as he worked around compiling enough data that could suit them. Adam was the only other guy who had some background knowledge in computers, despite what time Rocky would spend in front of it.
Aisha was still discouraged with the words of their leader's request as she kept the pink ninja company on a set of stone blocks on the other side of the room. It was clear that in time of great need, she didn't want to put Kim's life on the line, but she had wanted her to help. But as far as they could tell, they had been grounded by the falcon ranger for the sake of hoping they wouldn't be needed at all. But it was hard to tell.
It would only make sense for their assistance. The rest of the world had fallen into a deep slumber, and they were the only ones unaffected by it next to the dino rangers. It only made sense for why they were awake. They were needed. Maybe not now, but hopefully sometime in the upcoming future.
For a moment, Billy let out a frustrated breath, running his hands through his hair shaking his head. The red and black ninja rangers stood beside him wondering what was going on. Aisha nudged Kim as she helped her to her feet as they walked over to the main computer.
"What's up, Billy?" Aisha asked with much curiosity.
"Did you find anything?" Kim asked.
Billy shook his head as he tried to make sense of what was going on. "There's something wrong. Extremely wrong."
"What is it?" Adam asked as he noticed the fear run through his friend in blue.
The four ninja rangers crowded around the screen watching the battle unfold on the screen. They watched as the two psycho rangers were advancing toward the lone black dino ranger. The other rangers were busy with the cybots, doing away with them. But they still had much to learn about their enemies as more seem to come where others had fallen. For a number of 30 troops, they were still fast enough. They weren't like the cybots before. These ones had real skill and strategy against their enemies which had the rangers work a little harder to defeat them. But with their hands full, they didn't seem to notice much of what was going on with the Psycho Rangers and the black dino thunder ranger.
"Can't you get any sound out of those things?" Rocky asked, noticing there was no audio as they watched the fight unfold.
"That's what I've been working on for the last 10 minutes, but these cameras aren't fixed with it. And other communications regarding the rangers is still down."
"But you mentioned that something was extremely wrong with the battle," Kim stated as she tried to make sense of what was going on. She had looked at the screen again, watching the split image of the battle, one with the teens against the cybots and another with the psycho rangers against her husband. Yet, as she watched him grip the staff tightly in his hands, she had noticed something different about his stride. She just didn't know what.
"I did. The staff he holds in his hand is not his brachio staff," Billy announced.
"What do you mean!" Aisha breathed, obviously being the first to say something. But it was clear that none of them had not quite seen the difference in his weapon. A weapon was a weapon, and they swore that the weapon he held in his hands did belong to him. "That looks like the brachio staff to me!"
Adam had thought for a moment as he raced over to another table where a metal case stood. He unlatched it and pulled it open to reveal the brachio staff inside. He looked it over quickly before pulling it out of the case and racing back to the team. For a moment he looked from the screen the weapon he held in hands trying to figure out what exactly what was going on. He watched as Tommy had zoomed past the Psycho Rangers swinging his staff high and around their blows, striking them both as they hit the ground. But then he watched the blade of the staff glow slightly in a hint of green and traveled up the blade to the golden tip. And he watched as it had formed an emerald-like gem on the very top. "Did you see that! What the hell is that?"
Rocky looked from the brachio staff Adam had held in his hands to the one he saw over the screen. For a moment he had no clue what was going on, until Kim had snatched the staff from Adam's grasp as her grip tightened around it. She swung it about, feeling its presence and almost feeling the energy of the brachio spirit within it.
"So, what are you saying? The staff he has in his hands isn't what you guys have been working on?" Aisha asked.
Billy turned to look at his teammates as he watched Kim swing about the saber. It was clear she still wasn't convinced that the one her husband held was a decoy, but the one she held seemed feasible enough to pass as his weapon. He shook his head. "We worked closely with Tommy's staff trying to set up more energy on it, but hadn't had the time to re-program it to respond to the morpher. I've created a locator for each weapon, and it was like the brachio staff never left the room. It has been here the entire time."
Silence fell over the five ninja rangers as they looked over their options again. Kim had handed over the brachio staff to Billy as he turned it over in his hands, stating the details that could tell it apart from the other weapon. But before he could continue, Rocky had cut him short.
"So, time out! If this is the brachio staff, then what the hell is in Tommy's hand?"
Their eyes fell on the battle again as they watched the black dino ranger send out an energy orb, but there was something different about it. It glowed in a hint of green and it had encased both psycho rangers and himself. With lightning fast reflexes, they all bolted out of the room, not taking their chances. It was clear they were beginning to understand the nature of the attacks, more powerful, much more deadly that only meant one thing. And they had hoped that it was not true at all. That it was only a dream and that their friend wasn't going to become a victim of his own evil reign once again.
XXXXXXXXXX
The teens were knocking down the cybots with ease, despite the fast reflexes they seemed to obtain. The four rangers had been too preoccupied with their own problems to notice the stride of the mentor. Conner had raced passed two more cybots his saber held high and swinging deflecting shots and slicing them down to size. Ethan and Kira worked double team against five more cybots, taking them out as they advances toward a wall. Trent sent arrows flying as a means to send laser bolts in the direction of the arrows, almost like heat-seeking missiles. And the times where the cybots were confused about where their shots had gone, Trent had disposed of them with ease.
The area fell silent as the four teens met each other in the center of the carnage and scrap heap of metal all around them. Metal wiring singed the air with the aftermath of laser fire all around them, several metal pieces still smoking from the battle. With weapons locked in the protection of their morphers, they caught their breath and relaxed.
Conner looked around at the carnage, letting a breath return. For a moment, he felt slightly weak and shaken, but glad that this part of the battle was over. He was exhausted, and so were his teammates. "That was tough."
"No doubt," Ethan sighed. "But I am so glad to have these weapons, compliments of the technical team."
"Without them, this might have been our last battle yet," Kira said with a nod.
Trent had been bothered by something as he looked around the streets. The other rangers looked at him with confusion asking him what was wrong. He shook his head as he continued to look around. "Guys, where is Dr. Oliver?"
The other three rangers exchanged a look as they searched the area with their eyes, seeing a line of smoke and hearing the crackle of an explosion in the distance. They followed the White Ranger as he was already moving toward the area of the boom. Running through alleyways finding them just beyond the docks in the city, they watched as the psycho rangers had engaged in another battle with the black dino ranger.
The black dino ranger had moved against them, despite the signs of fatigue he was showing, he didn't seem to stop. He wasn't ready to be defeated. And the psycho rangers couldn't seem to find an open where a punch or kick fell in contact with a block or the staff.
The teens raced over to their mentor calling out his name, but he had held out a hand stopping them in place. And when they tried to move closer to the battle, they noticed that they couldn't get any farther.
"Dr. O, what are you doing!" Conner breathed as he slammed against the invisible force field.
"We came to help you!" Ethan called out.
But it was like their mentor had not heard them as they continued to call out to him. Feeling around the force field on all sides, there was no way in or out of it even if they tried. And it had them worried. They continued to call out to their mentor, but he didn't respond.
The black dino ranger had moved against the psycho rangers, despite their ability to whip in and out of his attacks, the moves he made were quick, hard and deadly. A degree that took his fighting to another level.
Psycho Blue went flying through the air, but had stopped short as he came crashing into the invisible field before the teenage dino rangers. He growled as he raced back toward the black ranger, but went flying again as the staff struck him again.
Psycho Yellow had refused to go down as she used her own tactics to take down the black ranger. She would grab him, throw him off balance and strike, but Tommy was quick to recover every time. His staff swinging high and low to confuse his enemies, he would strike at the last minute with more power than the psycho ranger could realize what hit her.
The two psycho rangers were glued to the cement as they tried to get up. The black dino ranger barked out for their defeat, but they had refused as they got back on their feet racing his way.
"Dino energy orb, full rage power!" the black dino ranger swung his staff into a circular motion to form the deadly blow.
The two psycho rangers stopped for a moment, freezing with the thoughts of their demise with that blow.
The teens cried out in a panic, noticing something was extremely wrong with that attack. They had never heard of it before and as Tommy seemed to step through the orb, absorbing some of it energy and letting it loose, it had encased around the invisible locking around the two psycho rangers and the black dino ranger. The power and energy had forced the field to grow, pushing the helpless teens back. They watched in a panic as the two psycho rangers fought through the power to take down the black dino ranger.
The three figures had battled only briefly in the orb as the energy was too much to withstand and the two psycho rangers had meta-morphosized to a grander scale before the black dino ranger. The black dino rangers growled in frustration as he held out his morpher forming an X across his chest with his staff in the other hand, taking the impact of a deadly electrical assault to energize him.
But the brightness didn't seem to stop there as the intensity of the power and energy increased, forcing the teens back. But there was something else different about the entire thing. Their morphers seemed to be sucked into the invisible field as it locked within the energy of the orb, their knees locking instantly as they felt their bodies become drained. But at the last second, a series of shadows had pulled them all out of harms way as the four teens collapsed to the ground, de-morphing.
"What the hell is going on!" Ethan groaned as he tried to get to his feet, but Billy had pushed him to the ground.
"Save your strength, Ethan. Something's not right about this battle."
"You think?" Conner winced as he grabbed his arm. For the times they would demorph, he had not gotten used to the drain of energy it would do to him. He winced and groaned as he looked to the invisible force field, the battle still raging.
Adam, Rocky and Aisha had stood several feet from the edge of the invisible force field, not believing their eyes. Despite the energy orb that still seemed to encompass all of them, the psycho rangers, were now combined into one looked far more gruesome and psychotic than the rangers were used to seeing. The black dino ranger was still fighting to clear away what seemed to be the final blow, absorbing it against the sword and the morpher. His entire figure shaking as he fought to hold his ground.
Kim had collapsed to the ground in tears as the dino teens rushed to her side, hoping to lay some comfort on her. But they didn't seem to be of any help as a blinding light had imploded within the field, shielding all of their eyes. As it cleared, and the team could finally see what was before them, smoke clouds filled the area where the big battle had went down between the psycho rangers and the black dino ranger.
For a moment, everyone was frozen in their thoughts of thinking it was the end. Silence rang as they waited for the smoke to clear, none finding any strength to move again.
Then they heard footsteps echo beyond the smoke. They saw the shadow figure emerge from the debris as a dark cloud seemed to loom over it and the entire area. The team slowly got their feet, frozen in fear as they all shudder. They could feel the air around them grow to an icy coldness. And when their eyes had focused clearly on the figure, an evil laugh filled the air making them shudder again.
"No..." the teens breathed in fear.
The ninja rangers were in their own line of fear, anger, worry and mixed feelings as they looked over at the black dino ranger. His stance was clearly not his own, but of an evil beyond words. The shield, with a reign of evil deeds that once belonged to the feared pink dino ranger, was locked around him in a fury and rage that sent the area into another darkness. His grip had tightened around the staff as it glowed in a hint of green, but another sword seemed to fade in and out of its gaze.
"I'm back, Power Rangers! And your demise will soon follow to my hand," the dark reply had escaped the lips of the ranger.
XXXXXXXXXX
Island fortress.
Mindshatter hissed with his own satisfaction as he watched the battle unfold on one of the monitors in the lab. He didn't care at that point, if it had destroyed his foot soldiers in the end. He wouldn't need them if all of this was staying on course of his plans. The excitement rose when he saw the black dino ranger use the staff, the staff which he knew he had created, against the two remaining psycho rangers. And he had showed no mercy toward them at all. And when he saw the energy orb encase the trio of fighters he knew the next set of plans was unfolding nicely.
The bright light had forced him to shield his eyes too, but when it was cleared and died down, he felt a new energy fill him. "Yes. I feel your rage and anger, black ranger. Use it against your friends and destroy them!"
He turned to the other side of the room and threw out a hand as the five candles lit to life. The five candles which he had obtained while in the Gamma-Tri system to use against the remaining rangers. The candles that had been connected to the dino rangers, and with a new line of twists. He sneered in his accomplishment as he watched the flames take life over each candle, watching as the sparks of color escape each time the wick burned slowly.
"Brace yourself for phase two of the battle, power rangers," Mindshatter bellowed as his eyes glowed in that eerie dark red of evil and rage.
To be continued...
A/N: Whoa! Did you expect that? I bet you didn't. I bet so. Wait, Tommy is evil again, too? Of course. It drives the plot even more, and I figured it would bring in some more readers and more reviews. I hope you're ready for the next set of the battle. It's only beginning. And what will the rangers sacrifice in order to become the victors in this war? Stay tuned and hope I got you wondering for more. See you when I do. May the Powers Always Protect You.