Chapter 5
The last time Kim talked to Zack and Trini, they were somewhere in South America, as part of their 'Youth Peace Conference' project. She volunteered to be the one to return the power coins to them.
Ninjor gave her the mastodon and sabre-toothed tiger power coins and teleported her to their location.
She opened her eyes to find herself standing in the middle of a picturesque green valley surrounded by hills and blanketed by a clear blue sky.
"Wow." She breathed in the fresh air. Sure, the mystic realm was quite literally something out of the pages of a fairy-tale, but this place was somewhere in Earth, where the beauty of nature had not been tarnished by pollution. And that was something worthy of appreciation.
She remembered the various campaigns she organised with Trini and the others back home to clean their city and shut down hazardous waste dumps.
She missed her friends. They were all scattered now.
She couldn't get distracted now. Time was of the essence.
Just then she saw a shadow cast over her. She looked up to see something diving straight up at her. It was literally the biggest bird she'd ever seen. And she hastily took a few steps back on realising whatever it was, it had no intention of slowing down. As it came closer, Kim saw it wasn't a bird but a young woman in yellow on a paraglider, who was grinning madly at her.
"KIM!" Trini shouted happily, leaping out of the paraglider and tackling her to the ground with a fierce hug.
"Trini!" Kim laughed, hugging her back.
"I've missed you!"
"Missed me. Hah! You nearly knocked me out!" She bit back playfully.
"Nah. I was in total control." Trini shrugged, sitting up. "What are you doing here? We've been dying for you to come see us but I thought you'd let us know you were coming."
"Well, I'm afraid we have a bit of an emergency and we're getting the gang back together." She said.
"What's wrong?" Trini narrowed her eyes.
"Zordon has been kidnapped by this hotshot villain calling himself Dark Spectre and another guy called Ivan Ooze is loose on Earth with no active ranger team to stop him." Kim said.
"I'm in. Come on, let's get Zack." Trini pulled her up. "We'll figure this out."
Kim looked around at the abundance of trees as she followed Trini. "This is amazing. I can't believe it's the same place you sent me photos of only a year ago."
"It's incredible. Our project is not only conserving but also creating new sustainable green spaces." Trini said happily. "I completed the pre med courses and I will most probably be going to Harvard the next year but I will miss this. I love the work we do here. Feeling the impact of literally healing the planet. It's such a positive force."
"You are doing an amazing job here, Trini."
"In order for these places to survive and thrive, it requires education and commitment for the people who live here as well… and that's what Zack is focusing on. He's great with people, sometimes I think I am better with plants."
"Yeah. If jumping out of gliders like a super nature ninja is code for "better with plants"." Kim punched her shoulder playfully.
"Well, it's not always that dramatic." Trini replied. They'd reached a clearing in the forest with small wooden huts nearby. In the centre, there was a small group of children in karate gi facing a dark man in a black hoodie and imitating his movements.
"…And focus on the sound of the wind through the" Zack continued demonstrating his hip hop kido, only to be interrupted by giggling from behind.
Before he could turn, he felt someone knocking him off balance with a sweeping kick. Zack stumbled backwards and leaned on the ground for support with his hands and did a series of backflips. He was met with a flurry of punches and kicks from his attacker, before he flipped her backwards. To his surprise, she landed on her feet doing an exaggerated spin through the air.
He faced her, both of them in fighting stances before bursting into laughter. The class erupted in cheers at the impressive display.
Zack hugged Kim and spun her in the air. "Ahhh! Kim! I can't believe you're actually here!"
"I missed you too, Zack! But…ugh…ribs! So much crushing of ribs!" She gasped.
A few minutes later after dismissing the class, they sat in Zack's makeshift office. Old pictures of them at Ernie's were pasted in the wall with random notes and rosters.
"So, nobody is there to defend Earth. Zordon is kidnapped. You and Jason are now half aliens and spent the past year in different planets. This Ninjor guy is giving us our powers before and we're up against a shapeshifting evil alien. Did I miss anything?" Zack recounted after Kim filled them in. "Man, this is bad!"
"Tell me about it." Kim grumbled.
"Okay. When do we leave?" Zack asked.
Kim's eyes lit up. "You're coming too. For real?"
"Of course, I'll come. The work we're doing here is important and I love it. But once a ranger, always a ranger. It might feel good to get back in the field with a little rangers butt kicking action."
"That's great! You are going to need these back." Kim said, handing them their power coins.
They smiled, looking at the coins.
"It feels good to see these again." Trini smiled.
"You guys ready?" Kim asked as she started to flicker in pink energy. The wind picked up around them.
"No doubt!" Trini smiled.
"Man, I haven't teleported in forever, absolute best way to travel!" Zack exclaimed enthusiastically as all three of them disappeared in streams of pink, yellow and black lights.
Craziness was part of her life. Aisha Campbell had accepted it long back when she was chosen by Trini to be her successor as the yellow ranger. And even after relinquishing her ranger powers, her life had been nothing short of exciting and adventurous.
She stayed in the past as a child with all her memories and knowledge of the future to stop the plague from destroying the village and the wildlife.
This is where everything got confusing.
In the original timeline, her grandmother and mother were originally from the Zambesi village, the same place she arrived as part of her Zeo Quest. Her father was an American doctor who visited the village as part of a team from WHO. He fell in love with her mom, a local doctor and married her. She was born in Zambesi and her family stayed there till she was six and the plague hit. Her parents and her grandmother moved to her father's home in Stone Canyon and the village was eventually destroyed a few years later. She didn't have many memories of living in Zambesi.
After the zeo quest, her future memories were incorporated with that of her six-year-old self. She remembered the training she received in the veterinary clinic, including knowledge of future inventions and medicines that could stop the plague. It was a bit hard for her parents and other people to believe when she started coming up with solutions. But Ashala, the village elder believed her and instructed the others to follow her instructions. The plague was stopped in five years and she was hailed as a prodigy. In this timeline, she was raised in the village and went to a school in Kenya. Her family never went to Stone Canyon and she never became a power ranger.
She had to relive puberty and growing up, but this time with an adult mind and memories of her time as a ranger. She missed her old friends, who she had no means of contacting. For her, it had been ten years since she last saw Rocky, Adam and the others. She'd no idea if they even remembered her. All she had as a reminder of those times was her broken sabre-toothed tiger coin which mysteriously stayed with her.
Her life stayed normal till last year. Ashala, the former keeper of the yellow crystal and her great aunt passed away, after having lived more than a hundred years. Aisha suspected that the exposure to the zeo crystal might have been the reason for her prolonged life.
Before her death, she gave Aisha a necklace… the same one her grandmother gave her in the previous timeline, which allowed her to stop the Hatemaster. Apparently, it was more than a normal family heirloom.
Ashala told her that it was a powerful magical talisman called the Tantu Totem, which allowed it's wielder to channel the ashe or life force of the animal kingdom. She could use it to communicate with animals, summon animal spirits and take on their attributes like flight of a bird, gills of a fish, strength of an elephant, speed of a cheetah and even the camouflaging ability of a chameleon. The wielder of the totem was to be the protector of their people and the village.
She could hardly believe it. She found herself becoming a superhero again. When the village was attacked by terrorists, she used the power of the totem to fight back. The totem apparently came with its own superhero costume. While it was nothing like her ranger suit, it was enough to protect her identity from others.
It was a simple safari themed yellow and black combat suit equipped with a mask. The media dubbed her 'Vixen'.
She protected Zambesi and neighbouring cities from crime lords and terrorists. She found out the reason they were attacking the village was to get the secrets hidden in Ashala's journals.
She went through Ashala's journal and found that there were five other totems which were scattered across the planet, each representing a different element- fire, water, earth, air and destruction.
The mastermind behind this entire operation was Benatu Eshu, a man who had acquired the fire totem. In his quest to get the other totems and get absolute power, he made deals with demons. In her time as a ranger, she had seen scary things, but the sheer destruction and brutality of Eshu's forces made her terrified for her life. He found out her identity and took her family hostage demanding the Spirit totem in exchange for their safety. She had no means of contacting the power rangers and the crime lord's forces were razing the village to the ground. That all brought Aisha to where she was now.
Demon powered terrorists were crushing buildings and killing senselessly, their bodies deformed and animalistic and their eyes completely black. Her parents and grandmother were held at gunpoint. She had no idea what to do. With all her heart, she prayed for help.
Benatu look at her cruelly as he juggled five fireballs at once, his arms a frantic blur of red and orange, looking like a ring of fire.
She tearfully placed her hands on her necklace. There was no way she could win, not against a horde of demon possessed soldiers and a fire bender.
"No. Don't do it, Aisha. Run away!" Her mother screamed. "He will not keep his word. He will kill us all!"
One of the soldiers slapped her hard and she slumped unconscious against her father.
"Mom!" She cried.
"Aisha, this is bigger than us. You cannot let that man get the totem. We are it's protectors." Her grandmother said.
"We love you, Aisha." Her father said. "It doesn't matter what happens to us. Run, Aisha. Don't let him get that totem."
"SILENCE!" Benatu screamed, as the fireballs leapt from his arm and hit their arms.
"Nanaba! Papa!" She shouted as they writhed in pain.
"Aisha, go!" Her father shouted. "Save yourself!"
"You can save them by surrendering the totem to me or I will make you watch as I kill them slowly. After that, I will burn you to a crisp and then take the totem from your ashes." He said ruthlessly, his eyes glinting maliciously.
She stiffened. She could sense the lies in his voice. He was going to kill them either way but she needed her to give up the totem to him willingly, otherwise he would have taken it by now. Maybe it was a safeguard from preventing it's powers from falling into the wrong hands.
She wished she could stop him, but she was all alone.
"You are never alone." A ghostly blue light enveloped her and she felt her surroundings disappear and be replaced by a lush green jungle. Someone grabbed her. She turned around to see Ashala and other women who looked a lot like her.
"You are never alone." Ashala repeated. "The power of your ancestors is with you. Fight back, Aisha. We will fight beside you."
She found herself staring back at Benatu and the scared faces of her family.
"No." She replied simply. "I am fighting back and you will pay for hurting my family!"
"Stupid girl!" he spat. "I will kill you, your family and everyone in your pathetic village!"
He raised his arms and unleashed a wave of fire at her.
She touched her totem and a projection of a red dragon appeared in front of her. The dragon opened her mouth and sucked in the flames.
Her eyes glinted red as she charged at Benatu, who looked shocked.
"A dragon? Its impossible." He stuttered. "Kill her family."
The three soldiers holding them hostage nodded as they raised their guns, ready to fire. Her father held her grandmother and mother close, as they closed their eyes.
"NO!"
The image of the dragon was replaced by a cheetah. She ran towards them but she wasn't fast enough.
"Its okay." Her grandmother whispered.
Just then, a wave of blue energy collided against the soldiers, knocking them out.
Aisha stopped in her tracks, her heartbeat speeding up. It couldn't be…
"Never fear, Ninjor is here!" A voice echoed across the battlefield, as a figure in blue bulky armour ran through the ranks of demon powered soldiers, knocking them out effortlessly. "Don't worry my bear, help is here."
Four streaks of coloured light imploded in middle of the demonised army, causing a giant shockwave that threw them back. The dust settled to reveal a team of rangers she hadn't seen before.
They were all female rangers and their suits definitely had a ninja theme. They had a black and white swimsuit like design over their coloured suits and their helmets were modelled after cats but had a floral pattern over their visor. All of them carried a sheathed katana in their backs.
"Red Rose- Flower Ninja Sakura Miyamizu!"
"Purple Orchid- Flower Ninja Tatsu Minamoto!"
"Blue Iris- Flower Ninja Kagami Haruno!"
"Orange Lily- Flower Ninja Ran Yamashiro!"
"Kunoichi Strike Force: Power Rangers Floral Fury!"
"What is this nonsense?" Benatu growled. "Never mind. I will destroy anyone who stands in my way!"
Benatu smashed his fists together and a tornado of fire started to form around him, burning everything in his path.
The orange, blue and purple ninjas scooped her family out of harm's way. The red ninja stabbed her katana to the ground and thorns began to erupt in a straight line till it reached the fire lord, trapping him in a cage of thorns and vines.
He yelled, burning himself free from it. Before he could react, Aisha rammed into him, the spirit of the bear glowing around her in a yellow aura.
"It's time for you to boogie with the bear!" She snarled, lashing at him with punches and kicks. The claws of a bear enveloped her arms as she pushed him back.
He fell back, before he opened his mouth and breathed a torrent of fire at her.
Ninjor appeared in front her, spinning his sword and deflecting the flames.
The blue ninja took out her katana and swung at Benatu, sending a wave of water towards him.
Aisha seeing her chance touched her totem and an eel appeared over her. She leapt into the waves and grabbed hold of the criminal. Lightning coursed through his body as he convulsed.
She snapped the fire totem from his neck and kicked him back.
"No!" He yelled. He looked around to see all his stooges lying unconscious in a heap.
Aisha knocked him out with a well-placed punch to his head.
She turned towards Ninjor and hugged him. "Thank you. If you guys hadn't shown up, I would have lost everything. Thank you!"
"The timeline may have been rewritten but you were never forgotten, Aisha. Zordon and I always kept a watch on you and we are proud of the work you have done. With or without your ranger powers, you are a hero." He said, returning the embrace.
Aisha turned towards the ninjas. "Thank you too."
"It was a pleasure to help." The red ninja said as they demorphed. All of them were young Japanese women.
"Aisha, meet the last ninjas of the Forest Ninja Academy of Japan." Ninjor introduced. "They were trapped by demons in a prison dimension, which I recently liberated, for several hundred years."
"That's horrible." Aisha said. "I'm glad you broke free. If there is anything I can do to help-"
"I was hoping they could stay in Zambesi for a while till I arrange a more permanent residence for them." Ninjor said.
"You are more than welcome here." Aisha replied, before glancing at the unconscious villains. "These people… they would bribe their way out of prison and try to attack us again."
"No worries. Since a prison dimension is now under my domain, it won't be any issue." Ninjor rotated his hands and a canister appeared in his hands. He pointed it at the defeated army and opened the lid, and all of them were turned into blue mist that was sucked into it.
Aisha breathed a sigh of relief.
"I must take my leave now. Remember Aisha, we are always connected by the Grid. Help will always be there if you need it." Ninjor said, teleporting away in flickers of blue light.
Six months passed quickly after the Battle of Zambesi.
With help of the powers of the totem, the rangers, her family and the local protectors, rebuilding and rescue operations took almost no time, restoring the almost destroyed village to it's former glory in a matter of few weeks instead of years.
Though the terrorist attacks had stopped, Aisha was still searching for the remaining four totems and someone to weild the fire totem.
Her parents basically adopted the ninjas into their family and Aisha became good friends with them, training with them and showing them how the world had changed in the last few centuries with advancement of technology.
She was enjoying her life as a normal civilian again. That was until Ninjor popped up suddenly in her house.
"Aisha, we need your help." He said urgently. "There is no ranger team on Earth. Zordon has been captured by the forces of evil and there is a powerful villain who has infiltrated Earth's defences."
Aisha looked at her parents.
"Go." Her mother said. She hugged them before turning towards Ninjor.
"We are coming too." Sakura said, all the ninjas standing up.
"Not all of you. Zambesi is still a strong ley line nexus just like Angel Grove. It's very soil is saturated with magic. We can't leave it undefended especially with the United Alliance of Evil targeting Earth." Ninjor said.
"Then I and Tatsu will go with her." Ran said firmly. She was the eldest of the group and no one argued. "Sakura and Kagami will stay behind to protect the village."
Ninjor nodded his head approvingly before turning towards Aisha.
"Do you have your old power coin?"
"Yes. For some reason, it never left me." She said, taking out the coin from her pocket.
"Because it's rightfully yours." Ninjor stated proudly. "Aisha Campbell, it's time for you to be a ranger again. I know you have your own powers, but a connection to the Grid and ranger armour will provide more protection in battle."
He closed his fists around the coin, his hand ebbing with white light. He returned the coin to Aisha, who saw the cracks had disappeared but a silver emblem of a tiger stripe had superimposed on the image of the sabre-toothed tiger.
"You will be a stronger ranger than ever before. The powers of your spirit totem will work in conjunction with your ranger armour, making you a force to be reckoned with."
"It's awesome." Aisha smiled back at Ninjor and waved one final time at her family before she was teleported alongside the ninja master and the two ninjas.
Billy Cranston never thought he would permanently move to live in another planet, let alone one where almost 87% of the planetary surface was submerged under water.
How life had changed for him! From childhood, he hated swimming and he was absolutely terrified of fish and now he was now dating an alien mermaid, as Rocky had said. But that was not the only reason he was on this planet. He was going to Aquitar Academy of Grid Sciences, one of the best institutes in the entire universe. He was learning about technology and science far beyond anything even conceptualised back on Earth.
It was all surreal.As far as his parents know, he was overseas on a scholarship programme. He missed them. Sooner or later, he had to tell the truth to them, especially considering that he and Cestria were engaged and that he had no plans of ever returning to Earth.
He sighed, continuing to work on a forcefield generator with Cestro.
"Billy, what is troubling you?" he asked.
"I don't know. It's just I've been feeling nervous lately." He answered honestly. It was the truth. Ever since they heard news of Zordon's capture, he'd been rather jittery. It could be a side effect of his exposure to the healing waters of Aquitar. The water had changed him. He had developed gills and could now breathe underwater like the aquitians. He also could control water to a certain degree, which was a quite common occurrence among aquitian mages.
All of a sudden, alarms blared out over the speakers, putting the entire facility on high alert.
"There is an unauthorised teleportation beam headed this way!" Cestro yelled, instantly morphing to the Blue Aquatar Ranger.
Billy pressed a console, which sent a distress signal to the other rangers, who teleported to the chamber along with Cestria.
"Our defences cannot block the teleportation." Cestro said. "Whoever it is, it is extremely powerful."
A red and golden light filled the room. It dissipated to reveal Jason.
"Jason, what are you doing here?" Blly asked in surprise.
"Billy!" Jason smiled seeing his friend clad in a silver and blue jumpsuit with a lightning bolt emblem on his chest. "It's great to see you!"
"The feeling is mutual." He replied, smiling. "Is everything okay on Triforia?"
"Yes, but we need to go back to Earth ASAP." Jason said bluntly. "There is some new villain called Ivan Ooze who is running around there and Earth has no active ranger team to stop him."
"What about Tommy and the others?"
Jason shook his head worriedly. "Ninjor wasn't able to track their locations but they are alive. We're assuming Ivan Ooze got to them first. We are the only ones who can stop this guy now. I know it's a lot to ask but-"
"Let's go." Billy turned to look at the Aquitian rangers. "I need to go. I hope you guys understand. Though I may not live there anymore, Earth is still my home and if there's anything I can do to help, I have to."
"We understand. But Billy, please be careful. Ivan Ooze is no mere villain. He's an ancient force of evil and there's legends about his cruelty. We will await your swift return and pray for your victory." Delphine said. "I will notify the Academy that you have gone."
"Wait, you are not going without me!" Cestria said, grabbing Billy's arm. "And don't tell me it's dangerous. Where you go, I go."
"Are you sure?" Billy asked hesitantly.
Cestria lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers at her, flashing her engagement ring at him. Jason's eyes widened on seeing the sapphire ring.
"Would I be wearing this if I weren't?" She smirked.
"Okay." Billy relented.
"Cestria, be careful." Cestro pulled his sister for a hug.
"I will." She returned the embrace before exchanging the traditional Aquitian gesture for farewell. Billy did the same.
Cestro smiled back at the two. Though Cestria and Billy's relationship had been frowned upon by many, he had supported them whole heartedly.
"Cestria, I never expected this day to come but it's time you received your birthright." Delphine said, as a golden medallion manifested in her outstretched hands.
"This belonged to your mother, before she fell in battle. I hope you don't have to use this, but we would all feel better knowing you have some means of protecting yourself." She said, giving it to the young healer.
Cestria's eyes teared up. "I ... Thank you. I don't know what to say."
Billy looked at the medallion with interest. "Is that what I think it is?"
Cestro nodded.
"Our mother would be so proud of the woman you have become today. Now go and may the power protect you both."
The two nodded before turning towards Jason, who pressed his communicator and all three of them were teleported away to Ninjor's Temple of Power.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Parts of this chapter were influenced by the MMPR: PINK comics and the superhero Vixen from DC comics and the CW Arrowverse.
The Floral Fury ranger team was inspired by Hanarangers from 'Ninja Sentai Kakuranger'.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and please review.