Chapter 6: The Rescue
Only a month had gone by between the two teens, but somehow it felt much longer since they shared their phone call. Things were awkward whenever the two were in the same room. She always seemed to be with her friends. He didn't even feel comfortable trying to even fake flirt with Trini anymore. By his own reasoning, he didn't want to upset her further…so he reverted his attention back to Kimberly as he had before he and Trini made that fateful bet back in September. He hoped that by doing so, Trini would pick up the subtle gesture of 'I'm only pretending to flirt with your best friend because I respect you.'
It wasn't until a new guy prone to wear all green moved to Angel Grove and seemed to become Kimberly's new guardian. It was harder for Skull to tease Kimberly with that "hunky" teen martial arts expert Tommy Oliver around. His innocent tone of voice and pretty boy appearance weren't quite intimidating on the surface, but when he bust out his moves, particularly his spin kicks, he was obviously a force to be reckoned with.
Trini could see Skull getting frustrated whenever Tommy would come to Kimberly's rescue, and would just shake her head at his pitiful attempts to get arise out of her friends. This bully wasn't the boy she had started to fall for. As far as she was concerned, any feelings she had for him were gone.
The two knuckleheads walked out the school along with the other freed high schoolers. Bulk glanced over at his buddy, able to tell that he seemed down.
"Hey, man, you okay?" he asked. Skull gave a shrug. "Hey, that Oliver kid, is a push over! Kimberly doesn't know a fine catch when she sees one." He said. Skull perked up, surprised by his friend's kindness.
"Yeah?" he smiled, "Thanks Bulky, I needed that encouragement." He said shoving him playfully.
"What? NO, I was talking about me, pea-brain." Bulk clarified.
"Oh." Skull frowned, looking back down at his feet.
"I mean, what's TAMMY got that I don't got huh?" Bulk continued, "I know plenty of deadly karate moves," he said giving a not so intimidating kick, "I'm in great shape…why I'm just as good lookin' as that goody good." He stated proudly shaking back his head. Skull looked him up and down.
"Where?" Skull asked giving a quizzical look. Bulk glared at him and grabbed him roughly by the shirt front as they continued to walk.
"Look, we're going for ice cream at Ernie's, YOUR TREAT." Bulk declared.
Once they arrived at the Angel Grove Youth Center and settled at the bar, the boys ordered two vanilla sundaes. Skull was incredibly grateful that his buddy wasn't looking to ordering all the ice cream Ernie had in stock. Bulk dived into his sundae, all smiles and not a care in the world, meanwhile, the skinnier punk to his left was just sort of poking at his dessert.
It was strange. He and Trini were sort of thing until she suddenly decided to stop talking to him, then one day out of the blue, Kimberly asked him out and stood him up, and now neither girl wanted anything to do with him. He never thought he and Kimberly could really have something, but…Trini. As the ice cream slowly melted before his eyes, he wondered if he still had a chance with her, or if she even cared about him.
All of a sudden the building started shaking violently, sending the teens around them into a panic. They all looked around in alarm. Ernie stood up.
"Everyone, the building's falling down. Evacuate the building!" he ordered. Everyone quickly rushed out the main doors in a frenzy. Skull got up and attempted to leave, but Bulk, not looking away from his half-finished ice cream, grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him back in his seat.
"We're not leaving." Bulk said firmly. Skull looked at him in disbelief.
"B-But, the building's falling down." He argued fearfully.
"I'm not finished with my ice cream." He stated matter-of-factly despite the obvious danger, taking another large bite of ice cream. Skull sat beside his friend obediently, drumming his fingers on the counter anxiously. He desperately wanted to run, but he knew couldn't just leave his best friend behind to get crushed. As if on cue, a large wood beam fell onto the counter, making Skull jump. Bulk's eyes went wide, now fully aware of the seriousness of their situation. "I'm done. Let's go!" he said scrambling clumsily out of his barstool and running toward the exit with Skull by his side.
As they ran out, they spotted an abandoned bus parked outside the Youth Center.
"Come on! We got to get out of here as fast as possible!" Bulk reasoned, running onto the bus. Skull shook his head in amazement.
"B-But Bulk—" Skull shouted after him, climbing up the bus steps.
"You have a license, drive us out of here, Skull!" he ordered, sitting down in the first row seat. Skull instinctively sat in the drivers' seat.
"But, Bulk, I've never driven a bus-"
"Just do it!" Bulk hollered, leaning toward him. Skull didn't want to add "stealing a charter bus" to his list of criminal acts he's committed, but it was an emergency situation. Plus, the keys were still in the ignition. It was as if the bus was just begging to be stolen, he rationalized. It wasn't until he turned the keys starting the bus' engine and began to pull out onto the main street that he thought, 'I don't know what I'm so worried about. I drive dad's car all the time. How different could it really be?'
However, the large size of the bus was throwing him off and making Skull swerve along the stretch of road. Bulk was quickly beginning to feel sick.
"How'm I doing back there, Bulky?" Skull asked rather proud that he hadn't crashed into anything yet. "No one even taught me how to drive this thing!" he laughed.
"You're driving like a maniac!" Bulk yelled, now very regretful of his decision making Skull drive them.
Suddenly, the ground shook harder, making Skull grip the wheel and try to maintain control. He grunted, steering this way and that trying not to completely lose control of the vehicle. Out of nowhere, a giant gold-armor clad monster, Goldar, laughed and picked up the bus tight in its clutches.
"Bulky!" Skull screamed, holding onto the bus for dear life.
"Hang on, Skull!" Bulk called back, clutching to his seat, terrified.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the Power Rangers ran onto the scene, immediately noticing the bus in Goldar's grip. The team heard the screams coming from the bus.
"No! They're civilians!" Jason remarked in alarm. Goldar let out an evil bellowing laugh.
"Yes! I know!" He replied, turning the bus over in his hands, "Actually, they're friends of yours! I believe you call them Bulk and Skull!" he revealed, laughing manically. Immediately, the team took their stand ready to fight. Time seemed to stop for Trini upon hearing Skull was in great dangerous.
'No.' she thought in panic. Her visor focused in on the inside of the bus. She looked on in horror as she watched Skull scream for help, trying to hold onto anything in the bus's interior. She and the punk may have been in a complicated place in their relationship, but in that exact moment she realized that she didn't know what she would do if she were to lose him. He needed her just as she needed him. After this battle she knew they needed to finally have their overdue talk. They would talk. Failure in rescuing both him and Bulk was not an option.
"Put 'em down, Goldar!" Jason demanded.
"Not until you surrender, Rangers!" the beast challenged, continuing to turn the bus over, rolling Bulk and Skull around inside. Then, riding in through the sky on a broom, Goldar's master, the evil sorceress, Rita Repulsa cackled.
"Take them to the beach, Goldar!" she ordered her minion. Goldar laughed in turn and headed toward the shore front.
"No!" Trini involuntarily cried out reaching out to the direction of the bus.
"We have to save them!" The red ranger yelled. The team immediately teleported themselves to the beach and desperately began to search around for any sign of Goldar and the bus.
"Hello, Rangers!" cried Rita from atop a nearby cliff. "What took you so long?" Beside her stood the deadly Scorpina, one of Rita's many powerful and dangerous allies, blade drawn.
"There she is!" Zack pointed in the direction of the foes, "Come down here and-"
"Wait a minute!" Kimberly looked around them, "Where's the bus?"
"I'll help you with that!" Rita answered. "It's over there!" she cackled pointing toward another cliff. The bus was placed precariously on the edge and being pushing back and forth by a horde of putties.
On the bus, Bulk and Skull laid on the floor, holding on for dear life.
"What are we gonna do?" Skull asked.
"Let's get out of here!" Bulk suggested. Skull nodded.
"Great idea." But before the boys could try to make their escape, several putties pressed themselves up against the doors of the bus, gurgling at them. The two let out a simultaneous cry for help.
"We have to do something!" Trini cried clutching her yellow sabretooth helmet, growing more and more fearful for the boys' safety.
"The bus could go over any minute!" Kimberly added. What the rangers couldn't see was that the putties and two of Rita's other minions, Baboo and Squatt were pushing the bus slowly forward using two large fallen palm tree trucks hoisted underneath the vehicle.
The boys inside the precariously parked vehicle continued to cry out feeling the bus moving closer and closer over the edge to their doom.
"Aahh! We're going over the edge!" Skull cried anxiously.
"We're going to be history!" Bulk added, on the verge of tears. Skull stopped and looked at Bulk with bewilderment.
"You mean we're going to be famous?" he asked dim-wittedly. Bulk was about to let out another cry, but slowly looked to his friend in frustration.
"No, I mean like we're going to be dust!" he clarified, irritated. The boys' eyes went wide as the bus gave a slight jolt and let out another simultaneous scream. Skull's volume escaladed as the putties continued pushing on the sides of the bus, jostling the vehicle further. Having heard enough of Skull's obnoxious and ineffective hollering, Bulk covered his friend's mouth with his hand.
"Stop screaming, stop moving!" he said trying to keep him calm, perhaps to make their final moments more somber and relaxed. "We're going over." He noted. Skull's eyes stung with tears.
"Yeah…We're going over." He repeated in understanding, giving a salute to seemingly no one in particular, shutting his eyes tight, and awaiting his demise. The bus began to really teeter perilously over the cliffs' rocky ledge.
"Look! They're almost over the edge!" Kimberly shouted, grabbing Jason's arm begging for his command. Trini gripped the sides of her helmet once more as large rocks near the top of the cliff gave way and tumbled far onto the rocky bottom below.
"Oh no!" Trini cried.
"We've got to get up there somehow!" Jason yelled.
"But if we go up there, they'll push it over for sure!" Kimberly explained.
"They'll go over anyway! Let's go!" Jason ordered his team. The crew burst into a run up the beach toward the tottering bus. The Rangers had forgotten one important thing,
"Oh no, it's Goldar again!" Zack pointed. They had forgotten Goldar, still towering above them thanks to Rita's magic, and still around ready to fight. He drew his sword with a roar. He plunged the immense weapon into the sand attempting to destroy them. He pulled the sword free lunged his sword at them once more. Rita laughed mockingly.
"Hahaha! Don't forget the bus!" she reminded the Rangers.
"That's it! We need MEGAZORD POWER! NOW!" Jason and the rest of the Rangers shouted, summoning their zords. The large mechanical companions came running to assist. Rita grinned viciously.
"Ah! Here come the Zords! Send the bus over once and for all!" she ordered. Baboo and Squatt nodded excitedly as they gave a hard push on the palm trunks, pushing the bus further and further toward destruction. But the Rangers were ready. They turned their systems online and powered up their respective power crystals.
"Alright! Let's move out!" The red ranger exclaimed. "Let's show them Megazord power!" The zords morphed and came together to form the Megazord. Just as the Megazord boomed, "Megazord power activated", the bus finally began to plummet down the side of the cliff, Bulk and Skull screaming inside.
Just before the bus hit the ground, the Megazord caught it and gently placed it safely on the plateau far away from the side. Bulk and Skull looked around in shock.
"Are, are we alive?" Bulk asked with a smile. Skull looked perplexed, unsure of how to answer.
"I don't know…Let's find out." He said before turning and pinching Bulk's cheek hard.
"OW!" Bulk exclaimed.
"Did you feel that?" Skull asked waiting for confirmation from his pal. Bulk scowled pulling back a fist, ready to sock him. Skull put up his hands in defense. "W-we're alive!" he said joyously reminding Bulk that they were in fact both out of harms' way. Bulk's anger quickly faded as he realized Skull was right.
"We're alive!" he laughed, sharing a fist pound with Skull, ecstatic and overjoyed to have been saved by the power rangers. Their laughter stopped when they both realized how they had been brought back to safety in the first place. "The Power Rangers!" they exclaimed, clamoring to the bus window to watch the fight from a safe distance.
Now that the boys were safe, the Megazord led Goldar away from the cliff to deal with him thusly. The Rangers were beating the beast down. He was losing fast and Rita wasn't going to tolerate failure with her plan. With the toss of her staff, she enlarged Scorpina. Despitenow being outnumbered, the two were still no match for the Megazord and the might of the megasword. The Rangers were still holding strong.
"Time to call upon THE GREEN RANGER!" Rita proclaimed summoning the mysterious green ranger. "Now, green ranger, GROW!" she shrieked, throwing her staff once more allowing the green ranger to grow, matching the size of the Megazord.
In a cloud of smoke the green ranger emerged, laughing darkly, sword in hand.
"Whoa!" Bulk exclaimed, "A giant green ranger!" The boys watched on eagerly, but they quickly grew worried as Scorpina wrapped the Megazord with her scorpion-like tail and the green ranger went in for the kill. In a series of sparks and explosions, the ground opened up, and the Megazord began to plunge into the molten magma below.
The Rangers ejected out of the machine just in time to avoid getting swallowed by the lava along with the Megazord.
"Skull, get us out of here!" Bulk said scrambling back to his seat. Skull nodded vigorously and he too ran and plopped back into the drivers' seat.
"You said it, Bulky!" In a quick twist of the keys, the engine roared to life. With a squeal from the tires, Skull slammed his foot on the accelerator and sped off toward the road.
"Man, I never thought I'd see the Megazord destroyed like that." Bulk said in complete disbelief. "Glad the Rangers got out in time."
"This has really been some day, huh?" Skull mentioned as he continued to quickly guide the bus back onto the main road toward the safety of home.
~~~
As the zords cried out, devoured by the flames, the Rangers, de-morphed, could do nothing, but look on in utter despair at the loss of their mechanical companions.
"Just when we need them most…they're gone." Trini lamented. The friends looked among themselves and teleported back to the command center to find Zordon gone. Alpha recounted how the Green Ranger had invaded the command center and made Zordon vanish from the grid. At that moment, the Rangers were even more unsure of what their next move against Rita Repulsa and the lethal power of the Green Ranger would be.
As Kimberly ranted about how the Rangers were history and Jason brooding about how he should've lead the team better somehow, Trini, though defeated, felt a small victory in rescuing Skull. At least she hadn't lost him. Regardless, the world was still in potentially grave danger and Zordon was gone.
Just then the computer beeped and whirred. Alpha relayed that the computer had been running a DNA scan on the Green Ranger and had been scanning for a match to determine the ranger's true identity. The Rangers gathered around the viewing globe.
"Finally, we can get some answers!" Kimberly exclaimed. The image began to come through, blurry at first, the viewing globe slowly sharpened the image revealing the identity of the green ranger, their newest, most dangerous enemy.
"Kimberly…look." Trini said feeling sympathy toward her friend. Kimberly looked on, her eyes brimming with tears, shaking her head. The image cleared, zooming in on the face of the green ranger.
"I don't believe it." She gasped in painful heartache. "Tommy?" she questioned in disbelief.