Cat: Hey all! This chapter has a few more emotional bits, but also bunches and bunches of humor. Brace yourselves as the Rangers gear up to take down Trent Fernandez.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers. But maybe if I sold my sister into slavery I could afford it.
"Hey, I wonder who that is." Kat said, pointing at a large group of people coming towards them from across the field.
"No idea." Kelsey said. Dana and Carter weren't listening, and neither were Ashley, Andros, or Justin, for surprisingly obvious reasons. Kelsey wanted to be supportive of her friends, but not paying attention to what was going on around them could be suicide in their present situation, and she knew that.
"Who who is?" Chad asked. Chad was being a good guy and murmuring comfort at Carter and Dana.
"You can't see anymore." Kelsey grumbled. "There's people in the way." She tried to look around them, but the crowd had shifted and there were dozens of people between her and the strange group. "Come on, we're checking it out." She grabbed Joel—who'd been trying and failing to be supportive--and began tugging him after her.
"What? Wait!" He protested.
"We're gonna go see who it is."
"But what if it's Trent?"
"We're Power Rangers, it's our duty to make sure these people are safe." Kelsey said, trying to invoke his sense of duty. She'd seen enough of the group to know that it wasn't the dreaded White Ranger and was eager to see more detail. Joel looked like he was about to argue further when Kelsey added, "Don't tell me that the Space Cowboy is scared."
"I'm not scared." Replied Joel sharply and he gave up.
"Look! It's Kelsey and Joel." Taylor pointed. "The Lightspeed Rangers must have come here too." Leo said.
"That was lucky." Kimberly said and they hustled forward, eager to be out of the open.
"Ohmigod." Kelsey said, catching sight of faces.
"What do you mean 'ohmigod?'" Joel hadn't really been looking, but he did so now. "Ohmigod." He breathed.
"Come on." Kelsey grabbed him again and again pulled him through the throng of people. "Dana! Carter!"
"Kelsey, not right now." Chad hissed.
"No seriously, you have to come see this, you totally won't believe it." She didn't give them much choice. She pulled Dana away from her husband and led her, still crying, away.
"Ashley, Andros! Justin! You too, come on." Joel urged and the excited two, utilizing all of Kelsey's strong will and Joel's sheer bulk, somehow managed to move the whole group of Rangers to where they could see.
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Hannah was the first one to see them. "Mommy!" She shouted happily and began running forward. She then seemed to remember that Kira was leading her and looked up at the yellow ranger.
"Go on." She urged and Hannah dashed forward. Greg, spotting his parents, handed Sam roughly to Kira and ran over. He passed Hannah after about two strides, but then slowed down so as not to seem too eager. Hannah, still running full tilt, stumbled and landed flat on her face. Kira was there in a flash and tried to help her to her feet. The task was made more difficult by the presence of the baby and Taylor came over to help. They brushed a bit of grass off Hannah's knees and pushed her forward again.
By that time Dana was a step away and she lifted her daughter up and held her tightly. Kira handed Sam to Justin and stepped back. She found herself, however, in Ashley's tight embrace. She was released just as the other Ranger began a stream of useless ramble.
"Thank you so much! I knew you'd take care of everything! How did you do it?"
"Do what?" Kira asked uncomfortably.
"Survive the explosion?"
"What explosion?"
"When The AstroMegaship exploded." Ashley seemed nervous.
"The Megaship?" Kira repeated and looked up sharply. Velocifighters still patrolled the sky, but almost lazily. "TJ." She breathed.
"TJ was driving the ship?" Andros appeared. Kira nodded. Andros swallowed but didn't allow his mind to fully process the information. He returned immediately to the task at hand. "I'm glad you guys made it, but we need to get busy."
"Right." Carter agreed. "We need to get these people to safety, and we should probably move the kids somewhere safe." Ashley nodded.
"I'll take care of 'em!" Greg offered instantly. The adults who hadn't been on the Megaship when he was running it—namely the Ligtspeed Rangers, the Astro Rangers, Maya, Kimberly, Justin and such--shot him a withering glare.
"Greg, I think they count you as one of the kids." Kira informed him.
"What! But I can fight! I can—"
"I'll watch them." Shayla said placidly. The parents hesitated, but agreed and Shayla carried Sam and led the toddling twins and Hannah off, Greg muttering to himself as he trailed behind.
"Okay, now to get rid of the crowd." Andros said. "Conner, we're gonna need you for that."
"Me?" He repeated, pointing at his chest. Andros nodded and explained what he needed to do. "Why can't you do it?" He asked Andros as he accompanied him to one of the picnic tables. Kira and Ethan were pushing him through the crowd and Conner was being difficult every step of the way.
"Because you've been in the news recently it makes more sense."
"Come on Conner, it's just a few people. Don't tell me you're afraid of public speaking." Ethan urged.
"I'm not afraid, just a little…." Conner couldn't think up a different word.
"Conner, we'll be standing up there with you, it's no big deal." Kira said and she and Ethan nudged past a few people. They knocked a few people off of one of the benches—and received glares angry enough to roast a marshmallow--as all three Dino Rangers stood on it to gain extra height. Conner turned quickly and made to dash off but both Kira and Ethan grabbed him again. "Conner, I'm on stage all the time. It's no big deal."
"Yeah, but you're brave."
"Flattery will get you no where, dude." Ethan informed him but Kira looked as though she could have argued that point very strongly.
"Don't I get points for trying?" Conner tried hopefully. Instead of responding, Ethan cupped his hands around his mouth and turned to the crowd.
"Excuse me everybody. Can I get your attention for a minute?" Ethan shouted.
"Hey! You're Ethan James! And—and Kira Ford! And Conner McKight!" Bulk said excitedly. No one else seemed to notice "Hey Skull! Look who it is!" Bulk turned around and stared at the crowd of people around.
"HEY!" His shout was about four times as loud as Ethan's. "EVERYONE! THESE ARE POWER RANGERS! SHOW THEM SOME RESPECT!" Instantly everyone was silent. The Rangers glanced at each other, then Kira elbowed Conner in the ribs.
"Go on." She hissed.
"Right um…we're sorry, but this event is canceled. We need for all of you to leave the park." Whispers arose. "Go home. Lock your doors." Conner encouraged. "We're sorry for any inconvenience." There was a pause. As one, every single civilian took off. They seemed to filter around the Rangers like rocks in a shallow stream, who had been scattered among them.
Andros could now see the Wind Rangers, Thunder Rangers, and the Silver Guardians. However, while all the people were leaving, they were running and screaming and spreading mass alarm. "You don't have to panic!" Kira shouted after them, not that it helped much. She sighed and decided that their exit was messy and loud, but also very quick, and the sooner the Rangers got a chance to talk, the sooner Trent was stopped.
Once there were no civilians around, Andros stood up on the bench and the DinoRangers gratefully hopped to the ground.
"Okay, as some of you may know, a new evil has arisen." Andros said. "Trent Fernandez, White Ranger, has deceived us. Using his powers he has mustered an army. He plans on using this army to destroy his fellow Power Rangers." Almost everyone knew this, but it didn't soften the effect of his words. He stepped down. "Conner, Kira, Ethan, you guys are up."
"What?" Ethan asked.
"You assembled us; you guys decided where we go from here." Conner gulped and the other two looked slightly nervous at the short notice.
"Kira, why don't you talk to them." Ethan said.
"Yeah. I like that idea. Besides, you said it yourself, you're on stage all the time." Conner agreed and Kira found herself standing on the bench addressing a bunch of adults, preparing to tell them what to do. She swallowed hard, feeling a twinge of stage-fright at the daunting task.
"We called you all here because we realized that Rangers are strongest as a team." She began hesitantly. Seeing approval, she continued with more confidence. "We were thinking that we could call Trent here, and fight him on our terms."
"So call him all ready." Eric called and Andros nodded in agreement. Kira stepped down and stood between Ethan and Conner.
"Trent." She said into her communicator. "You picked a fight with the Power Rangers, and now we're picking a fight with you. We know that you never figured out those messages you intercepted. They said to meet at Angel Grove. Now we're here and waiting for you."
"You won't be so eager to fight me before long." Trent replied.
"We'll see about that Trent." Conner said and the communication died. The Rangers settled down to wait.
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After a short debate about safe locations the five children were taken to the Juice Bar by Sensei and Shayla. Greg had complained the entire time.
"But MOM! I can fight. And you need fighters!"
"No. I won't let you get involved in this."
"You won't let me do anything! Besides! I'm already involved. Do you think Kira could have run that ship on her own!"
"Go with Sensei and the princess."
"Why can't I?"
"You're too young."
"Only a year younger then you were."
"I'm not arguing this with you."
"Why can't I be a Ranger?"
"Because I said so."
"Is it because of the Trent-thing?" Greg guessed.
"Yes. It's because of the Trent-thing. And because of the Tommy-thing. And the Zordon-thing. And the Kendrix-thing. And because of the Cole-thing. And the Zhane-thing. And the Ryan-thing. Too many Rangers get hurt. It's not like a fairy-tale, Greg!" He was quiet.
"So? I can still fight."
"Good! Because Trent's after you and you had better defend yourself because I swear to God if you die I'll never forgive you!" This new info made Greg feel braver. More important. Less like he was running away. He would have to defend the little kids. He would be facing Trent's army. Maybe even Trent himself. He tugged on Hannah's arm and they hurried to where Sensei was standing just out of earshot. Ashley took a deep breath and thought regretfully that maybe she shouldn't have yelled. But it was too late to do anything about it now.
Dana stepped up just as Shayla and the children disappeared around the corner. "If she dies, I don't know what I'll do."
"Yeah."
"The ship blew up, and I thought…."
"So did I."
"I don't wanna—" She slipped back into the speech of a child in her distress.
"Me neither."
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Jason and Trini, who had remained good friends with Ernie, got off the phone with him, after giving him the heads up. They explained only that they were the children of Power Rangers and needed protection, but that was enough. Ernie had compassionately agreed to give them shelter and the Rangers would never forget it.
The Rangers were currently in various states. Some of them were silently standing with their fellows, the first moment of grief they had been allowed. Others were discussing battle tactics. Still others were quietly catching up with friends. The Dino Rangers were sitting on top of one of the pie-eating tables. None of them were speaking.
"What are we gonna do?" Kira asked finally.
"Do?"
"To Trent."
"Whatdya mean 'what are we gonna do'?" Conner asked loudly. "Not only did he lie to us like we're total idiots, but he used his powers to kill a bunch of good people."
"So we're going to kill him?" Ethan said. "We can't do that."
"Well we obviously can't let him go."
"You think you can kill him?"
"No. But what else can we do? I mean. I should be able to. He's a criminal. And a murder. He killed people he didn't even know. And he tried to kill us."
"He was our friend. Our teammate."
"And your boyfriend." Kira ignored that sharp remark, discarding it as stress and exhaustion and fear.
"When did this whole thing get so big? At first it was us. And I was so happy when our zords were fixed. They were like a part of the team. And then Trent tricked them into trying to kill each other."
"And us." Conner added.
"And then I escaped. And Trent left me, Kim, and Maya alone on that island to die. But when we were rescued it was suddenly not about us anymore. It was about everything. People have died! Up until now, there has been one death in Ranger history but now…"
"Now we don't even know how many he's killed. At least eight. The rest are missing. Probably dead." The speaker was Andros. "Here." He tossed a cell phone at them and Conner caught it clumsily. "Call your parents. You're going home."
"What!"
"You're just kids. You shouldn't be mixed up in this."
"Trent's our teammate." Kira reminded him. "We're more mixed up then you are."
"You said it yourself Kira. People have died. A lot of them. Within 72 hours. Trent knows we're waiting for him. He'll throw everything he's got at us."
"We're ready to make a stand." Ethan said.
"Yes. We're as ready as we're ever going to be. But that won't stop it from becoming a last stand. If that happens I won't have the new kids going down with us."
"We've fought Trent before."
"And he's almost killed you before." He said pointedly.
"We've had more experience since then. We're better."
"But you don't have Ranger powers anymore, and Trent does."
"There's three of us and one of him." Ethan said, trying to forget that even when they could morph Trent had still kicked their butts. Repeatedly. Numbers hadn't helped them then, and they probably wouldn't be much good now.
"Trent is one of the most powerful Rangers to have ever lived. Possibly the most powerful. There is only one who could have been a match for him, but that power died a long time ago."
"I wish Dr. O. was here. He'd stick up for us." Kira hadn't managed to bring herself to tell her teammates he was dead. She'd barely managed to admit it to herself.
"Ethan, we all wish he was here. We really do."
"We know Trent's fighting style. Even without powers we have the best chance to defeat him." Kira put in. Andros sighed.
"Call your parents. Explain what's going on. Maybe they can talk you out of it. Maybe they can't. Either way, call them."
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"You know, I fell kinda bad about wasting all those pies." Max said. His companions, Joel, Cater, and Justin, murmured their agreement.
"Too bad we can't make use of them." Carter said.
"We could eat 'em." Joel offered.
"That's like five hundred pies." Justin said incredulously.
"So?"
"There are a lot of us." Cater said slowly.
"And it's not like any of us have eaten in a while." Max agreed, equally hesitant.
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"Hey Mom." Conner said casually into the phone. Kira and Ethan had just called their parents. Kira hadn't been too worried about her parents. Her family was on their annual mountain vacation—which Kira was sorely depressed to be missing—and they wouldn't have telephone access for at least another 24 hours. Ethan had been much more worried, but eternally grateful when no one at his house bother to answer the probably prank phone call that they were receiving at two o'clock in the morning. That left Conner as the only one who had to dread parental wrath. He was taking it with his usual projection of calm. "Yeah, I'm back." He listened to the chatter on the other end. "Well, actually, there is a reason. See, funny story," He played it off and Kira and Ethan both blanched. They'd intended to avoid actually admitting what was happening at all costs. However, they had unanimously agreed that they weren't going to lie on the grounds that if they died, their parents would find out in a hurry that they weren't telling the truth, and also, they didn't want that to be the last thing they ever said to their family.
"Yeah, um, what happened, was, Trent—you remember him right? Yeah, the White Ranger, exactly. Well, he's gone kinda crazy on us so we're all down in Angel Grove for a super smack-down." Conner's arm extended with amazing speed, holding the phone at arm's length to prevent the sheer volume of his mother's shouts from rupturing his eardrum.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'SMACK-DOWN!' YOU PROMISED NO MORE FIGHTING!" All three Dino Rangers winced. And then Mrs. Mcknight said the one thing they had more feared. "I'M COMING TO GET YOU RIGHT NOW!"
"No! Don't!" Conner shouted, still holding the phone away from his ear.
"DO YOUR FRIENDS' PARENTS KNOW ABOUT THIS?"
"Bye Mom, love you." Conner said quickly and hung up.
"How long do you think it'll take before she gets here?" Ethan asked, mildly frightened.
"No idea." Conner admitted. "Trent had better get here soon."
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"Too many pies!" Max moaned. He, Cater, Joel, and Justin were not the only Rangers to have gathered around the tables. They were also not the only Rangers to have eaten themselves sick.
"So, we used about, what, thirty pies?" Taylor asked.
"More then that!" It has to have been more then that!" Carter exclaimed.
"Actually," Cam corrected, "It was only twenty-seven and a half."
"We're horrible." Trini moaned.
"We've failed the pies!" Conner agreed.
"Don't tell me you tried to eat all these!" Jason exclaimed when he noticed them.
"Fine. We won't." said Kira agreeably.
"There's only one thing to do with five hundred pies." Eric said.
"Oh really? And what would that be?" Taylor asked loudly. Eric ignored her.
"Wes! Jason! Get over here!" he called.
"What's going on?" Wes glanced from Eric to the pies, to Jason, and back to the pies. He knew instantly what they were planning.
"Let's do it." He said.
"You're not!" Trini had realized what they were thinking and sounded scandalized. "That's horrible!"
"What's horrible?" Taylor asked loudly.
"We'll need wood." Jason started listing the necessary materials.
"That's what picnic tables are for." Eric reasoned.
"That's destruction of public property." Trini reminded them. She seemed to have decided not to bother trying to talk them out of it, but rather to ensure that they did whatever they were going to do as safely as possible.
"Wait, what are we doing?" Ethan wondered. Everyone ignored him.
"No one's ever minded before when Ranger destroy things." Conner piped.
"That's the spirit!" Jason shouted happily.
"Besides. It's public property. That means it belongs to everyone. Including us." Wes added.
"Except that you don't live here, meaning you don't pay the taxes. I do." The yellow ranger corrected, hands on her hips in a last ditch attempt to dissuade them. All the guys glanced at each other. In a singular motion they moved to the table and began tearing it to pieces.
"Thanks Trini!"
Damon cracked his knuckles, then his neck, as though warming up for something big. "Let's get Roman."
Cat: Andros and Ashley made a few references to other Rangers in this chapter, and in case you were wondering that they were referring to, here's the list.
Andros says that there was only one Ranger who was more powerful then Trent: He was referring to the Green Ranger in MMPR. I figured this because Tommy was supposedly the greatest Ranger, and when he was in the coma in PRDT the only Ranger form of himself that he couldn't defeat was the Green Ranger. Also, having watched many many season of PR, I personally think that the Green Ranger kicks serious butt.
Ashley lists reasons why she doesn't want Greg to be a Ranger.
Trent-thing: A perfectly nice guy turning evil and trying to kill everyone.
Tommy-thing: Ditto Trent
Zordon-thing: Dying
Kendrix-thing: Ditto Zordon
Cole-thing: Fighting his parents murder
Zhane-thing: Getting injured to the point he had to be frozen
Ryan-thing: Getting raised by demons, which, admittedly, was not because he was a Ranger but Ashley was trying to prove a point.
Oh yeah, if anyone can tell me what the Rangers are building I will add in any three words you want in the next chapter or any one Ranger who is not present (if they're not here now, they're not coming).