Target Rangers
"Girl's they're lovely." Lisa Gilbert commented as she looked over the dresses Emma and Tanya brought home from the mall. "You're going to look beautiful."
"Thanks mama Gilbert." Tanya smiled, looking over her pale yellow dress in the mirror.
Emma hung up her light pink dress in her closet before taking a seat on her bed and looking over the silver heels she was wearing. Lisa took the spot next to her daughter, "This is so exciting, your first dance of Senior Year." She wrapped her arms around the two girls. "I'd better go and find the camera."
Tanya plopped down next to Emma, placing her hand on the mermaid's shoulder, "What's up Em?" she asked. "I thought that'd you'd be excited about the dance."
"I am." Emma replied. "I guess I'm just a bit nervous is all." She caressed her locket.
"You miss Cleo and Rikki." Tanya clarified.
Emma nodded, laying her head on her best friend's shoulder, "With the whole mermaid secret, it was easier to go to dances with just eachother."
Tanya nudged Emma's shoulder, "If it'll make ya feel better, I'll be your date." she giggled.
"You're already going with Shawn." the Pink Ranger reminded. "He's a good guy and he really seems to like you. I want you two to have a great time."
"I'm sure one of the guys will be your date." Tanya suggested. "You and Tommy should go."
The corner of Emma's lips curled up at the thought, but she pushed it from her mind, "No, I wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea."
The Yellow Ranger raised an eyebrow, "What wrong idea? You guys are best friends."
"Tommy's also the starting quarterback and I'm the co-captain of the Dance Team." Emma reminded. "If we show up at the dance together, people will start to think we're more than friends. I couldn't do that to Kimberly."
"Em, I'm sure she'd be okay with you guys going as friends." Tanya rubbed her back.
The blonde mermaid sighed, "Still, it wouldn't feel right." she twisted the fabric of the blanket over her lap. Tanya nodded in understanding and laid her head on Emma's shoulder.
The halls of Angel Grove High were decorated in announcements about the Back-to-School-Dance, and it was the topic of discussion among the student body. "So Rocky, is there anyone you'd like to ask to the dance?" Emma asked as they walked the halls, just finishing up a morning Dance Team practice.
The Blue Ranger rubbed the back of his head, "Well, their is this one girl." he answered, a small blush forming on his cheeks. "Her name's Jennifer. Her and I were paired up on this Computer Science project."
The Pink Ranger nodded along, "I see." she smiled, "Let me guess, she hasn't brought the dance up at all, has she?"
"She doesn't even comment when I bring it up." Rocky confirmed, twisting the fabric of his long-sleeved shirt. "It's a little frustrating." she shook his head. "What about you, Em? Anyone ask you yet."
The blonde shook her head, "Nah, but it's alright. I've got more important things to worry about than finding a date." she held her books closer to her chest.
"Wow, you and Billy really are related." Rocky chuckled. Emma giggled in agreement, the two splitting off to go to their respective classes.
Emma walked into the Science Lab, spotting Tommy already at their table. She waved and walked over, taking the stool next to him. "How'd practice go this mornin?" The Red Ranger asked.
"Great. We're more than ready for the Pep Rally coming up." Emma smiled, opening her binder to her notes. "It's gonna be great. Of course, everyone was bringing up the dance Friday night, mostly the Freshmen and Sophomores."
"That's high school for ya." Tommy noted. "You goin? To the dance, I mean."
Emma nodded, but before she could say anything, the bell rang for class to begin. The teacher pulled up the PowerPoint slides with the next section notes for the students to copy down. As he explained the next section, Emma glanced out of the corner of her eye, watching Tommy as he finished copying down the slide notes. She tapped the end of her pen on her notebook.
Adam and Rocky headed to the Youth Center to meet up with the other Rangers. "Adam, I'm telling you, I really don't like her." Rocky clarified, leaning back in the passenger seat of his friend's car. "She's cold, rude, stuck-up..."
"...cute, smart, challenging." Adam added, cracking a grin as he tapped the steering wheel.
"Wait a second." Rocky cut off. "Whose side are you on anyway?"
"I'm on the side of true love." Adam chuckled.
Rocky rolled his eyes, "Oh please, I wanna keep my lunch down." he mock-gagged.
Adam came to a halt at a stop sign, when out of nowhere a legion of Cogs appeared and surrounded his car. The two Rangers jumped out and stood in front, activating their Zeonizers.
"Zeo Ranger III, Blue!"
"Zeo Ranger IV, Green!"
"Ready to rumble?" the Green Ranger asked, looking to his friend.
"You know it." the Blue Ranger confirmed.
The two jumped into battle against the Cogs. The mechanical footmen didn't put up much of a fight, but that wasn't their intended mission. However, the Rangers didn't know and had left the object the Cogs were after completely unguarded. While the majority of the Cogs were fighting the Rangers, the remaining machine snuck into Adam's car and grabbed Rocky's backpack. He signaled the rest of the legion and they all vanished.
"Man, what the hell was that about?" Adam asked, as the two de-morphed.
"Who knows." Rocky shrugged, heading back to the car. "It's like they weren't even trying." When he sat down in the passenger seat, he realized his backpack was missing from the floorboard. "Oh man, they took my backpack! The password to my Computer Science project is in there." he put his face in his hands. "Jennifer is gonna kill me."
"What would they want with your project?" Adam raised an eyebrow.
The Cog that stole the Blue Ranger's backpack appeared in the Angel Grove High Computer Lab and downloaded the project onto a clean disk. He transported himself to the junkyard and inserted the disk into a pile of scrapmetal formed into a monster on King Mondo's orders. After the Cog returned to the Machine Empire Skybase, the Silo monster came to life.
At the Youth Center, Tommy was teaching the girls more martial arts moves. Tanya braced her hands on her knees, catching her breath. "I told you he wouldn't go easy." Emma reminded, taking a swig from her sports bottle, her forehead already coated with sweat.
"I can't feel my legs." Tanya panted, sitting on the bench. "I'll definitely feel this tomorrow."
Emma nodded in agreement, "No kidding."
"You ready for some more advanced moves Em?" Tommy asked from behind her.
She turned to face him and nodded, "Bring it, I've actually been practicing that Spinning Roundhouse Kick."
The two moved to the mat and stood opposite eachother. Emma demonstrated her practice and performed the technique, which Tommy blocked by grabbing her calf. "Nice, I think you've got it down." the Red Ranger praised.
The two teenagers went on to spar, throwing out more advanced moves than what Tanya was learning. The Yellow Ranger leaned back, dabbing her face with a damp washcloth. Emma blocked Tommy's advancements and went to kick his legs out from under him, only at the last second he flipped her over and she hit the mat. "Alright, I concede." the blonde grunted.
"You have been practicing." Tommy noted, holding out his hand for the girl to take. He pulled Emma to her feet and patted her shoulder, "Give it another month and you just might beat me."
"You're on." Emma accepted, rubbing her shoulder. She took a dry cloth from her duffle bag and poured some water on it, and used her mermaid powers to make an icepack. She pressed it over her shoulder, feeling instant relief.
Rocky and Adam ran up to the three, completely out of breath. "What's up guys?" Tommy questioned, noting the two boy's labored breathing.
"Cog attack a few blocks over." Adam answered.
"Are you alright?" Tanya asked, shocked.
"Yeah, we're fine." Rocky assured. "But they took my backpack, which had the security password to my computer project."
"What would King Mondo want with a security password?" Emma inquired, exchanging a glance with Tanya.
The Ranger's communicators went off, and they knew they were about to find an answer to the previously posed question. The five teens headed for the locker room doors, keeping hidden from view, "Zordon." Tommy responded.
"King Mondo has just dispatched a new monster." their mentor informed.
"We're on it." Tommy confirmed. "It's Morphin Time!"
"Zeo Ranger I, Pink!"
"Zeo Ranger II, Yellow!"
"Zeo Ranger III, Blue!"
"Zeo Ranger IV, Green!"
"Zeo Ranger V, Red!"
The Rangers were teleported to the junkyard, where King Mondo was waiting for them. "Welcome Rangers, to my video game." the mechanical monarch greeted. "Where you are the targets. Meet Silo, software compliments of Zeo Ranger Three." a tall robot mostly colored in white and black, with some points of yellow and red, appeared next to King Mondo. "Banish them, Silo!" he ordered.
"I'm going to rock your world." Silo threatened, firing a missile from the launcher on his shoulder.
The explosion startled the Rangers, but didn't knock them completely off balance. "Guys, us the Laser Pistols." Zeo Ranger V ordered, already pulling his from the holster. The others followed suit and they all fired at the charging monster.
"Question, who rules?" Silo asked, throwing the Zeo Rangers for a loop. "Answer, King Mondo. You lose!" Silo launched another missile.
"I think it's time for a height advantage." King Mondo suggested, turning to his two newly-updated footmen. "Klank? Orobus?"
"You wee Power Rangers are no match for his majesty's genius." Klank sneered. "Orbus laddie, I hope there are no kinks in your new software."
"Let me at 'em." the tiner robot cheered. Klank spun Orbus around and threw him at Silo. The tiny machine latched onto the missile monster and fired a thin laser into a port on one of the launchers. In a flash of light, Silo grew in size, bragging about his new height.
"Perfect!" Mondo praised. "My metallic monster is massive!"
The Rangers ducked out of the path of Silo's foot. "We need Zeozord Power, now!" they called out.
"Zeonizer Crystal, power up! Initiate ZeoMegazord assembly, now!" Zeo Ranger V ordered.
"Zeonizer Crystal, power up!" The Zords came together and formed the Megazord, which was the perfect opponent for Mondo's Silo.
"I am invincible!" Silo boasted.
"Not so fast, Silo." Zeo Ranger Three countered. "You're going up against the ZeoMegazord now!"
On the sidelines, King Mondo was actually enjoying himself. "I love seeing my own victories up close." he cheered. "I should get out more often, don't you think, Klank?"
Silo let out a roar before charging head on towards the ZeoMegazord. The two towering mechas were nearly equal in strength, but as always, the evil team fought dirty. Silo fired two smaller missiles from the launchers on his arms, striking the Megazord head on and sent it flying backwards. "You lose!" Silo taunted.
"They're flat on their backs, Silo." Mondo praised from the sidelines. "Now's the perfect time to close in, wouldn't you say?"
"Question, how hot is the sun?" Silo kicked the Megazord in the face, sending it rolling a foot or two.
"The sun?" the Red Ranger repeated.
"What does he mean by that?" the Blue Ranger questioned, which none of them really wanted to know.
"Splendid question, Silo." Mondo continued to praise his newest monster, which was slowly turning into a favorite. "Why don't you tell them?"
"Answer, prepare to find out." The front compartment of Silo's chest opened and a long chain wrapped around the Megazord.
Even pushing power to absolute maximum wasn't enough to break free of Silo's grasp. On the orders of King Mondo, Silo took off into space, heading straight for the sun, dragging the Zeo Megazord and the Zeo Rangers to certain destruction.
"He's taking us straight into the sun!" the Yellow Ranger exclaimed, fearfully.
"The heat shields are still holding." the Green Ranger noted, relieved.
"Then we should be okay." sighed the Blue Ranger.
"Yeah, but for how long?" the Pink Ranger posed an important question.
Once he was close enough, Silo released the Rangers and headed back towards Earth, letting the sun's gravity take care of the rest.
Down in the Power Chamber, Zordon, Alpha, and Billy were watching everything unfold. "Oh no!" Alpha shrieked. "The ZeoMegazord is being pulled toward the sun."
"Their only chance is going to be the Zeo Battle Helmets." Billy noted, having double checked the data.
"Wait-" Alpha halted, "we haven't had time to test them yet! They could backfire."
"There's no other choice." Billy reminded.
"Billy's right, Alpha." Zordon agreed. "Activate the battle helmets."
Alpha shook his head, inputting the necessary codes, "I sure hope this works." he prayed.
Billy turned the two-way communication system online, getting a direct link to the Megazord, "Guys, listen, each of your Zords comes with an additional power source that we installed with the new Zeo Battle Helmets."
"No offense Billy, but now's really not the time to be talking shop." Zeo Ranger One stated.
"No, the helmets can help you." Billy added. "There's Green for Zeo Gravity Power, Yellow for Zeo Jet Power, Pink for Zeo Cannon Power, Blue for Zeo Pyramid Power, and Red for Zeo Warrior Mode."
"Alright, Billy." Tommy confirmed. "Adam, try the Zeo Gravity Power."
The Red and Green Zeo Rangers switched positions, with Adam now in main control of the ZeoMegazord. "Zeo Four Battle Helmet, activate!" The red helmet was then replaced with the top-half of ZeoZord IV. "Hang on, guys." Adam activated the helmets ability, gaining control over the sun's gravity.
Tommy looked to Tanya, "Tanya, use the Jet Power to get us outta here." he told her.
"On it." Tanya and Adam switched places, the Taurus helmet being replaces with the two blasters from ZeoZord II. "Zeo Two Battle Helmet, activate!" Using the jet power, the Megazord was blasted free of the sun's gravitational pull, and headed back towards Earth.
The ZeoMegazord greeted Silo with a kick to the face, much to the anger of King Mondo. "Bet you didn't think you'd see us again, did ya Silo?" the Red Ranger chuckled.
Silo got back to his feet, "This game is getting fun." He charged ahead, only this time, the ZeoMegazord gained the upper hand.
"Alright Emma, your turn." Tommy looked over his shoulder at the Pink Ranger. "Show him what ya got."
"Roger that." Emma confirmed. "Zeo One Battle Helmet, activate!" The top half of ZeoZord I replaced the warrior helemt, the single cannon prepped and ready to fire. "Now, let's see what this cannon power can do." she giggled, firing a pink laser beam directly at Silo.
After her few minutes of fun, Emma traded places with Rocky, who was itching to see what the pyramid power could do. "Zeo Three Battle Helmet, activate." The pyramid from the top of ZeoZord III replaced the previous helmet, which fired a blue energy beam that lifted Silo off the ground, before sending him crashing down.
Tommy took control once again, re-engaging Zeo Warrior Mode. "Let's send this scrap heap back to the junkyard." he chuckled.
"ZeoMegazord Saber! Full Power!" As Silo charged forward, preparing to launch all of his missiles, he was struck down by the Megazord's attack, and was destroyed in a grand explosion.
King Mondo watched as his monster was destroyed, "You Rangers have insulted my kingdom." he growled in defeat. "You'll bow before my greatness one day, and be banished from Earth forever!" He returned to his Skybase, practically fuming.
Friday night, Emma and Tanya were getting ready for the school dance. Tanya's dark curls framed her face, which donned light bronze eyeshadow with a hint of sparkle and a light plum lipstick. Her dress was pale yellow with a high neck and a cross strap on the back, with a silver beaded belt under the bust and she wore simple black heels.
Emma wore a strapless light pink dress with a black belt under the bust, decorated with a pink and black flower. Her blonde hair fell down her shoulders with a portion pulled back with a silver barrette, and her blue eyes were highlighted by light blue and white shadow, a soft pink gloss coated her lips. She wore a pair of silver, strappy heels to tie her look together. She overlooked herself in the mirror, adjusting her locket so it rested in the center of her chest.
The two girls descended the stairs arm-in-arm, Neil and Lisa smiling at them. "Oh, you both look absolutely gorgeous." Lisa squealed, turning on the camera. "Smile." she snapped a few shots of the two in front of the stairs.
"Now remember, your curfew is eleven-thirty at the latest." Neil reminded, handing Emma her car keys. "You two have fun tonight."
"Thanks dad." Emma pecked her father's cheek before hugging her mother.
"You're first Senior Dance." Lisa sniffled, rubbing her daughter's back. She pulled away and looked her over, "So beautiful."
"Well, I do take after my mother." Emma giggled, taking the camera handed to her. "Don't wait up. Tanya and I will be back by curfew."
"Promise." Tanya added as they headed out the door.
Music could be heard coming from the gym out in the parking lot. The two girls walked up to the door, where Shawn was waiting. "Wow Tanya, you look-" he trailed off, amazed by his girlfriend's beauty.
Tanya blushed, "Thanks Shawn." she giggled. "You look handsome."
Emma smiled and pulled the camera from her clutch bag, "My mom will definitely want a picture of the two of you." Shawn and Tanya moved closer and Emma took a couple shots. "Thanks."
Shawn smiled at Tanya and offered his arm, "You ready?" Tanya smiled back and took his arm, the couple heading inside.
The gymnasium was filled with students dancing and mingling by the refreshments. Emma grabbed a cup of punch and sat down at an empty table. She glanced out at the dance floor, watching Tanya and Shawn, and Rocky and his date Jennifer.
"Hey there cuz." Billy greeted, taking the chair to the right of Emma. He wore a steel grey dress shirt and casual slacks. "What's wrong?"
Emma shrugged her shoulders, "I just miss Cleo and Rikki, that's all." she admitted, twisting her locket around her finger.
"I understand." Billy placed his hand over hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.
Emma smiled at her cousin and got to her feet, "I'm gonna get some air." She walked out of the gym, leaving her camera and clutch with her cousin.
Soon, Emma found herself walking along the beach, watching the sunset kiss the ocean. She crossed her arms over her chest, closing her eyes and inhaling the salty sea air. The waves crashed over the sand, the blonde's feet mere inches from the impact. She was tempted to dart into the water, already slipping out of her shoes.
"Hey." a familiar voice called from behind her. She turned to see Tommy, dressed in black pants and a red dress shirt, his hair completely down. "Figured you'd be here."
Emma smiled softly, "I thought you'd be at the dance." she muttered, looking down at the sand.
Tommy shrugged, "I showed up, talked with a few people. Didn't see you anywhere. Billy said something about you getting some air."
She nodded, "Yeah." Emma glanced over her shoulder at the ocean, taking another breath. "So, why'd you come to find me?"
He took her hand, "Because you look like you could use a friend." he smiled, tucking some hair behind Emma's ear. "And to ask you to dance."
Emma glanced up and met his eyes, a light blush creeping up on her cheeks. "You were going to ask me?" she questioned, her mouth getting dry.
"There's nothing wrong with two close friends going to a dance together." Tommy assured, smiling at the blonde. "What do you say?"
The mermaid swallowed, "There's no music." she noted, looking around.
"Not a problem." Tommy walked up to his jeep and started it, playing a soft song perfect for a dance. He stood in front of Emma and offered his hand, "May I have this dance?"
Emma couldn't help but smile and took his hand, moving hers to rest on Tommy's upper arms. The two swayed to the music, dancing on the sand. "Thanks Tommy." she said softly, resting her cheek on his shoulder, "You're the best."
"What're friends for, right." Tommy reminded, laying his cheek against the top of her head. The pair continued to dance to the song 'Always You and I' by 98 Degrees.
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, thanks to all who review. I've got great things planned, including appearances of other H2O characters! Another thing: Happy Birthday to my big sister Demongirl123. Without your encouragement, this series wouldn't even exist. Love ya bunches, XOXO.