Disclaimer……oh, you know the drill! Anything not ours belongs to their respective owners.

Authors' Note: TIC: For those of you who have stuck through all the build up, after this chapter get ready for a lot more action. Things have barely begun and you can expect the suspense only to build from here. insert another tag line to sell the story here

Impending Past

Chapter 3: Insurrection

1Eric McKnight had a twin brother. It's usually said that twins are very similar and they always stick together, sharing every experience as a child. The problem is that later in life they tend to resent one another. If one gets something that the other doesn't, you can bet their parents will never hear the end of it. Maybe one got more attention at times, an extra toy, the better color shirt. It's not often that you can complain because your brother is supposed to be a super hero, defending the Earth while you don't even get so much as a footnote.

The evil, reptilian cackle of the monstrous lizard brought Eric back to his senses. The primary colored gems glowed in his hands. Both Conner and Ethan appeared dejected.

"Those are the gems from the video, are they?" Eric whispered rhetorically, just looking for any communication from the others as a sign of comfort.

"With those, he can…" Ethan stammered.

"Do anything he pleases," Conner finished. The holographic dome that was still in Ethan's hand met Conner's gaze. What good was it now? Getting those gems before Mesogog was the only trump card they could have played. All the crap Conner had been through, the pain of seeing his parents come home every night exhausted and beaten to a house that was always in shambles. Not to mention the misery that he and his friends had suffered at the hands of Mesogog and his minions. Conner looked determinedly at Mesogog and then at Ethan and Eric. "We need to get those gems."

"What?" Ethan and Eric began to cry out before calming their voices.

"There is no way we can get those gems from him! It's suicide!" Eric was usually the more irrational of the two but even he couldn't believe the sort of trigger happy, emotionally charged action was coming from his brother.

Conner snatched the holo-dome from Ethans's hands. "If we want to fix this timeline," Conner said as he pointed to it, "then we need to get those gems. We need to become Rangers."

"Getting those gems won't fix the timeline!" Ethan protested. "We would still have to go back in time to do that!"

"That's why we are using this," Conner said as he took the Infinital Sequencer out of Ethan's jacket pocket. "The first device told us what to do. I'm willing to bet that this other one is what will allow us to time travel."

"Well, it looks like it has the capacity for it and it makes sense," Ethan concurred. "We still have to retrieve that Kira girl. If she is supposed to be a Ranger as well than we need her to come along with us. The three of us need to be together."

"Then you guys will need help," came the other voice from behind them. Ethan and Conner looked at Eric with sympathetic eyes. In the heat of their conversation, both had forgotten about him.

"What do you have in mind?" Conner was trying to lend a careful ear to his brother.

Eric signed as he eyed both of them. "I'm going to take you guys to the Resistance base. They – we, can help."

"'We?' You're part of the resistance?" Ethan questioned with a serious yet sincerely concerned expression. "What about what happened today? Do you know Kira?"

"Not specifically. Guys, I think we can help you get close enough to Mesogog to get those gems so we can at least try to fix this mess," Eric began to walk away from the dig site, motioning for the others to follow. "Are you coming?" Ethan and Conner looked at each other and shrugged as they began to follow.

About fifty yards away from where the kids had been hiding and spying on Mesogog, two shadowy figures had been, unbeknownst to the kids, watching them. Dr. Edward Payne and Terrance Smith waited until they were out of sight before standing up following the shocking conversation they had overheard.

"Well, it looks like you were right to bring me over here from the dig," Terrance grimaced.

Payne nodded with concern. "That device, they said it could help them travel through time. Free reign like that could really disturb Master Mesogog's plans. He won't be pleased. To think that there is a possibility that all of this isn't even supposed to exist. We can't let them disturb his plans."

"I know," Terrance murmured while the frustration was visible on his face, even in the dark the beads of sweat glimmered on the moonlight. "Mesogog must guard those gems better. They may just be kids but if they get a hold of them, who knows what position that will leave us in? Let's keep an eye on them. If we can figure out how that device works and bring them in we can avert a problem and cur a lot of favor from the master."

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About an hour later, the teens arrived at a rock formation in a small open clearing at the edge of Ranru Forest on the north end of Reefside. At first glance this appeared to be like any other open space in the forest. Upon further examination there were subtle nuances about it. Swamp area was in just the right place so that it would require a lot of effort to get up close to the rock. Trees that were down seemed almost strategically placed in the paths of least resistance. You wouldn't be able to notice easily, but if one didn't know better, you could swear that someone was trying to keep onlookers away from the area.

Eric moved his hand quickly along certain parts of the rock, never stopping, knowing just what he was doing as if he was a blind man reading his favorite brail book for the hundredth time with a ting of excitement when he knew that he had hit his mark. Sliding a small boulder up and over was the last piece of the puzzle. Faint muffles could be heard from inside the rock. Eric's brother along with their unlikely ally gave each other uneasy glances, trying to read if the other knew something that they didn't. How can someone be inside the rock and how could they possibly hear them?

Their questions were answered as a wall of the sediment slide to the side. No opening had been detectable to the eye before. Eric motioned the others to follow who, bearing in mind the last couple of days, had become dead to the concept of surprise.

The inside of the bluff seemed like a well-stocked refuge camp for teenagers. A few adults mulled around as well but everyone seemed to be treating each other as equals. The technology in the place was decent, nothing nearly as impressive as the images from Mesogog's lair, but comparable to anything Ethan had every seen. Holding himself back with a wide-eyed grin as if he had just woken up from a long slumber with a coat hanger in his mouth, he surveyed the area.

"Stand aside everyone," a girl stated in an authoritative but oddly familiar voice. "Eric!" Her toned dropped for a second to a squeal. Ethan was familiar with Cassidy Cornell who was followed closely behind by Devin DeValle. "It's great to see you." She quickly regained her composure. "But what are you doing they doing here?" She pointed an accusatory finger towards the other two boys.

"Cassidy?" Conner questioned, not letting his brother voice a response. "I saw you in the bushes today. What is this place? Eric said he was taking us to the resistance base. Its just more kids? No offense, but what kind of offensive is this?"

Devin bowed his head, muttering something about being right that someone had spotted them. He blamed himself.

"Devin! Please be quiet," Cassidy snapped. She winced for a second knowing that she was just taking out her disgust for Conner's cutting comments on her friend, knowing that he wouldn't fight back. "Eric!" she whipped back around to the twin she knew and could control. "Why are you bringing your brother and Ethan James here? I know he's your family but that doesn't mean you can trust him. They are Mesogog supporters."

"Hey!" Conner butted in again, making Cassidy's lip curl. "I have no desire to stay under the thumb of that scaly bastard. We're just looking for a few gems that were unearthed today."

"Gems?" Cassidy questioned. "I seem to recall seeing some gems. What about them is peeking your interest?"

"The powers," Ethan stammered out loudly before he could contain himself. All whispers in the room died and dozens of eyes were suddenly locked on the third member of the party. Ethan didn't have to look. He could feel them on him like leeches. "They have... ranger powers..." he finished, wishing he hadn't.

"So let me get this straight Eric," Cassidy fumed. "You've brought your brother and some squirrelly little busybody into the base all for the sake of running a suicide mission to get ranger powers? Do you honestly expect us to use out resources to create more evil troops for Mesogog? We need to contain all of you." Cassidy narrowed her eyes and shook her head in disappointment at her one time comrade. "Take them away."

Some of the larger teenagers and adults each grabbed one of the arms of the three kids. Eric struggled, yelling at his friend. "We can change time and put an end to Mesogog and Zordon's terror! Stuff your pride and hard exterior for one second and LISTEN!"

Ethan wasn't putting up much resistance and was being strong-armed. One of the men frisked him and pulled out the holo-dome. In a moment of brazen attitude, Ethan lunged forward and turned the device on before being shoved to the ground. The same recording the three teens had viewed before began to play again from the start. The men relaxed their grip on the teens as their guts began to tense up at the sights the globe showed. Jennifer Scotts' report painted a picture of hope.

"Eric..." Cassidy called out quietly. "...what is this?"

Eric gulped and slowly paced over to Cassidy, placing his hands on her shoulders, letting her rest her head in his chest. "It's what I said it was Cass. It's another time. It's a time where there is hope and were we're allowed to dream and live in freedom."

"It's paradise," she finished. Cassidy shuck her head, coming back from whatever blissful state she had fallen to. "I need to tell the boss about this."

"You aren't running this operation?" questioned Ethan, amazed that with her tone there could be someone higher than her.

"No, Ethan." Cassidy turned to the others. "Our boss is in deep cover at Mesogog's lab. He makes this whole thing possible, sending us surveillance and layouts so we can make our surgical strikes on Mesogog's operations."

"Ma'am! Something has happened!" A red-haired girl cried out as she worked her way through the crowd. Conner knew her well. Krista was a quaint girl from his class. He sat behind her everyday getting lost in the scent of her hair. She smelled like a combination of a fine morning dew and lavender. It was an intoxicating natural aroma. Seeing her so open and in such a technical structure seemed so out of character for this girl.

"We've gotten word from the boss. Mesogog has apparently finished building some sort of transmutation ray. If he's right, then Mesogog will be able to harness those gems. Their powers levels are off the charts."

Cassidy and Devin whipped around, eyeballing Ethan again. "You were right... Okay troops. I'm going to form a party to sneak into the base. We need to retrieve those gems now."

"I'm going," Conner snapped.

"You? I am sick and tired of you questioning me, Conner McKnight. You are not cut out for this. You have no training."

"Cass," Devin nudged her on the shoulder and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Can't you see how passionate they are about this? It's not fair to hold them back. Plus if that thing they have is the real deal, then they could actually help us win the war by setting things back to how they should be. You know how powerful the White Ranger is. Having three rangers of our own could turn the tide." Cassidy was taken aback. Devin never spoke up to her unless he was truly concerned about something. She turned her eyes to Eric, Conner and Ethan. They had a fire in their eyes that hadn't seen in anyone since Kira. She nodded at Devin and then the others.

"Okay, then follow me," she eyed the boys. Conner and Ethan lit up, immediately stone facing as Eric slapped them on the shoulders and ushered them forward followed by, Devin, Krista and Cassidy. A set of winding stairs led upwards. The old, crusty paint on the railing reminded Conner of his house, instilling very little faith in him. As the group entered from an underground passage and into a filthy room with tattered boxes everywhere a tingling sense of familiarity hit Ethan.

"Conner!" he said. "Doesn't this place look familiar to you?"

"Yeah, it feels like I've been here before."

"Guys..." Eric began to trail off before snapping back, "It looks like the same cave and house from the recording. I think that in the other reality, this was supposed to be that Dr. Oliver's house." Conner and Ethan looked at each other and nodded. The six teens exited the house after Cassidy looked around and confirmed that everything was clear. They quickly paced a few dozen yards until they reached a secure clearing. Devin explained to the others that Mesogog's security combed most lines of intel and as a result the safest form of contact was through a scrambled cell phone signal. Cassidy began to dial while Devin talked about the intricacies of their underground system.

"Boss?" Cassidy cautiously began. "We heard about the…uh…Yeah, they're right here, but how did you…I see. Do you believe that thing?...Okay.." A few minutes passed by, aggravating Eric to no end.

"Who is your boss anyway?" Ethan questioned Krista, "Is it anyone we would actually know?"

Cassidy quickly hung up the phone and speed dialed another number. Conner groaned along with his brother. "NOW who are you calling?" Conner said aggravated. "We're wasting time!"

Eric leaned in next to his brother. "She should be calling the base. I've never seen her make another call right after talking to the boss unless something big was going down."

"Guys," Cassidy interrupted them. Her cold blue eyes locked on both Devin and Krista. "It's time. Initiate Operation: Extinct."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Ethan sensed the serious tone.

"It means..." Eric nodded at Cassidy, "...that we're going in. It's time for a full frontal assault."

"Are you joking?" Ethan gave a nervous laugh. "Your boss told us to attack Mesogog's lab? With what forces? I thought we were going to sneak in. This is suicide."

"I understand your concern Ethan," Cassidy grinned. "I should rephrase myself. The six of us are sneaking in to get Kira and the gems with the rest of the forces are attacking from the front."

"But the rest of the forces is only about thirty people in that cave," implored Ethan.

"Those people are the generals of larger squads," Devin tried to put the others at ease.. "We have many more members."

"There's something else," Cassidy interrupted. "The boss said that one of Mesogog's right hand men knows about those devices you have. That means that Mesogog will know soon enough."

"Then we have to work fast," Conner commanded. The others nodded.

"We have to rescue Kira too," Krista spoke up. "All she wanted to do was fight for Kylee. She was her best friend. That bastard Mesogog turned Kylee into one of his – his, creatures," she choked through the tears. "By the time we managed to finally take down the beast he turned her into, Kira had to finally strike her down. She didn't even know... it devastated her to find out that the monster was Kylee."

The cell rang, giving Cassidy the go signal she had been waiting for. "Got it," she said with no more than a nod and snapped the phone shut. "That was the boss. He's going to open up an invis-portal from the other side. We jump through together as quickly as possible. Understood?" The other five nodded. As if on cue, the invisa-portal appeared directly in front of them. "It's now or never guys. See you on the other side." With that ominous tone, the six teenagers simultaneously passed through the green hued portal.

One thought passed through all of their minds, sharing in the same doubts. No matter awaited them on the other side, failure was not an option.

To be continued…