Author's Notes: For those of you who were asking about me… I'm back.

For those who haven't checked out my author's notes for an explanation of my long absence… let's just say I've been going through a lot. Thankfully, this chapter was half-written. The month of May will be taken up with work writing, though hopefully I can get some fanfic writing in there.

Since I've been gone so long, some of the plot points may be lost in time. You might want to reread the last chapter of Darker Shades and the first chapter of Brighter Paths, but if you don't want to do that, here's the salient points to remind you of: In the last chapter of Darker Shades, Jason, Trini, and Zack get accepted to the leadership conference, and they tell Zordon (and, unintentionally, Tommy, who's eavesdropping). So Tommy, Zordon, and Alpha know that the three are leaving, but Billy and Kimberly don't know yet, and the three don't know that Tommy knows. In the meantime, Tommy has been taking part in a secret project (three guesses as to what) with Zordon. Goldar, sick of Lord Zedd's inaction, has decided to take matters into his own hands and attack, ordering Squatt and Babboo to set up some sort of machine, which has not been going (and affecting the populace) for a few days.

That should get you caught up. On we go!

Brighter Paths

Book 1: New Light

Chapter 2: Black

Jason stared at the stage, which was draped in a dizzying array of flags. Zack was working on the sound system, and Trini was fussing with the chair placement.

"Does that look even?" She yelled to Jason.

Jason gave a thumbs up, and then winced when the speaker gave a squeal.

"Is everything going to be ready?" Mr. Kaplan asked, his voice strained. "The last of the exams ends in fifteen minutes."

"Everything's pretty much ready," Jason said. "I was just about to go get the ambassadors."

The speaker gave another squeal, and Zack muttered unintelligibly. "I think I almost got it!" he shouted.

Mr. Kaplan sighed. "I can't stress to you enough how important this is. We must make sure everything is perfect."

"Right…" Jason said, smirking a little at Mr. Kaplan's retreating form.

Yes, this was important. It was something, after all, he, Trini, and Zack were going to be deeply involved in for at least the next year. However, it wasn't as if this was the social event of Angel Grove. He was expecting plenty of people for the lantern-lit party that night, but for the opening speech? Everyone was too exhausted from final exams. Most people would leave, especially since there was a martial arts tournament going on at the Youth Center. It would mostly be the club leaders and the more politically engaged that would stay. They'd had to do quite a bit to ensure that Tommy, Kim, and Billy would attend.

Jason scraped his hair back and tried to chase away the low-grade headache that had been bothering him all day. The squealing speakers weren't helping.

"I'll help Zack with the speakers," Trini said, her brow furrowed in what looked like her own headache. "You go get the ambassadors." She frowned. "I wish we had gone ahead and told the others."

"Tonight," Jason said. "We'll tell them after the party."

"If we don't chicken out again."

Jason shrugged. "Getting too late for that, now. We won't have a choice to put off our announcement any longer."

Trini nodded, somewhat reassured. "I'll just be glad when we're not hiding anything."


"Are you sure you're not forgetting anything?" Zordon asked.

"I'm sure, Zordon," Tommy said, pulling up the usual program on the training console. "Now, where were we?" He said absently, checking on the progress. "We haven't run scenario #15 yet. I want to see if power surges are going to be a problem during Zord deployment."

"That's fine, Tommy," Zordon said. "As long as there's nowhere you're supposed to be."

Tommy frowned and searched through his memories. He knew Zordon was driving at something, but for the life of him he couldn't figure it out.

"Nowhere to be except here, Zordon," he said, and turned his attention to the controls.


Jason maneuvered his father's borrowed car through the jam-packed parking lot of the high school. Fifteen minutes ago, it had been sparsely dotted with cars, most people being exempt from the last day of exams. Now, though, it looked like the entire town had shown up.

"You perhaps underestimated how many people would attend?" Tamara, the chairperson from Israel, gave a teasing smile as Jason finally settled on parking on the grass.

"Maybe they got the time of the party confused," Jason said, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice.

"Or you might have underestimated the political engagement of your town, Jason," said Boris, the Russian ambassador.

Chun Mei, the Chinese ambassador, chuckled. "You don't have to join a world summit in order to care about peace, after all."

Jason smiled in return, hopped out of the car, and opened the back door. "I must be growing cynical. I'll have to work on that."

He led the ambassadors through the throng. He hadn't seen a crowd like this… well, he'd seen it at Power Rangers Day, and he'd seen it during the time that never was, back when the refugees of the town were packed in the protected area of the high school… but he didn't like to think of either of those times. Bad associations.

He spotted Trini, who motioned them past the annex building to bypass the crowds on route to the stage. Her eyes looked just as bewildered as he felt. It looked like not only was the entire school was there, but a good chunk of the town as well.

"The mayor's here," Trini said. "I just got through talking with her. Ten minutes ago I looked up from finally getting the speaker system to work, and everyone just sort of showed up at once."

A warning bell was going off in Jason's head.

Trini gave him a serious look as the ambassadors gazed around, seeming unfazed by the packed schoolyard. "Zack went to ask… Z-Man… if everything was taken care of."

Jason nodded at the code. Zack was contacting Zordon, just to see if this unexpected turnout was part of any scheme by Zedd. He wondered how Zordon would react to being called "Z-Man."

Zack jogged up to them and shrugged at the question on Jason's face. "Everything seems all right."

"Then I believe," Tamara interrupted, "in the interests of immediate peace, we had best begin the show… unless we wish to test the patience of this crowd."

Jason nodded and spied Mr. Kaplan hovering near the stage. "We're ready," he mouthed to him.

Mr. Kaplan nodded and approached the microphone. "Attention, everyone!"

There was instant silence. Jason tried to ignore that persistent alarm in his head, the one that sounded more and more like the red alert in the Command Center. The student body of Angel Grove had never been this quiet.

"Thank you all for the wonderful turn-out today," Mr. Kaplan beamed. "Today we mark the end of the school year… and the end of exams," he smiled to a smattering of relieved woops and applause, "with the opening of the Angel Grove Spring Festival. The theme of this festival… is peace."

He paused. A rapt silence met him. Jason started searching for Tommy, Billy, and Kimberly. He finally caught a flash of blue and pink near the front of the stage.

"In the past year," Mr. Kaplan continued, his voice a bit graver, "peace has been in short supply. We are nearing the anniversary when Angel Grove suffered its first monster attack. On July 9, the monster Goldar towered over our city, ready to lay waste to all of us… and asking for our surrender. He was the first of many."

Jason glanced at Trini and Zack. His own astonishment was reflected on their faces. He'd been expecting a welcome address and an introduction of the ambassadors. Not this.

"But on that day, we met more than monsters and a space empress. We met the Power Rangers as well," Mr. Kaplan continued. "Five… then six… heroes came to save us. Cloaked in mystery, only showing up to save us when we are threatened, they've fought back every single monster, every single Putty, risking their lives so that we may enjoy peace.

"But we haven't enjoyed peace. Not really. Even as the Power Rangers have fought, the monsters continue to come. People have been kidnapped and hurt. Even when we gathered to show our appreciation for the Power Rangers, we were taken and used as weapons against them.

"The Power Rangers continue to fight. Of course they do. They're heroes. Even when they seem to lose one of their number, as they're reduced to five again. Even when Rita Repulsa was replaced by Lord Zedd. They continue, and will continue, to fight. But is it enough?"

Jason realized he was holding his breath. He really wanted to see how Billy and Kimberly were taking this, but he couldn't see their faces, and he didn't even know where Tommy was.

"With this in mind, I wish to welcome our ambassadors, Tamara from Israel, Boris from Russia, and Chun Mei from China, in the hopes that we can find a better way to the peace Angel Grove needs so much, the peace that the Power Rangers cannot provide."

There was a deafening round of applause as the three ambassadors swept past Jason. He barely noticed them. The words from the speech were still pounding in his ears. The peace that the Power Rangers could not provide? With a start, Jason realized his fists were clenched. Anger. That was what he was feeling. Anger.

"The hell was that about?" Zack hissed.

Jason shook his head. Tamara was approaching the mic stand. Maybe she would clear things up. He'd talked with Tamara. He thought he knew exactly what the program was going to be about… and it certainly wasn't supposed to be anything about preventing monster attacks in Angel Grove.

"Thank you for your kind words of introduction, Mr. Kaplan," Tamara said. "And I echo my thanks for all attending. This is a town desperate for peace, one that has been denied too long, and you've all shown that today.

"This town is called Angel Grove… a grove for what in my country are called the messengers of God. And that is what I see here. Messengers. Those who would spread the message of peace throughout the world. But you haven't been allowed to be messengers. Instead, you've all been made victims. You hide as monsters and Zords ravage your city. You allow so-called heroes to take charge of your town."

Jason tensed. He felt a hand on his arm—Zack's—and realized he'd been shaking.

"I do not say this in blame," Tamara said reassuringly with a smile. "You all believe you've done what is right. And, perhaps, if the attacks had stopped. But the attacks have become part of this grove of angels. You are a city ravaged by war, a war not your own.

"On July 9, you were given a choice. Surrender, or face destruction. That choice was taken away from you by these Power Rangers, who have dictated the rules ever since, rules that have kept you all in danger and embroiled in conflict every second of every day. I and the other ambassadors have come to remind you that you as a city still have a choice. By showing up today, you all have shown your approval of that choice. Ms. Mayor?"

The mayor mounted the stage, her face set with grim determination.

"No no no no no no…" Trini began intoning under her breath.

"We've already had two wonderful speeches," the mayor said after adjusting the microphone to her height, "so I will not delay us any longer from what must be done. I hereby announce, by majority vote from the city council, that we, as a city, in the interests of preserving peace and reaping the benefits of interplanetary cooperation, do surrender to the rule of Lord Zedd, if he so wishes to honor our gesture of goodwill."

There was a shout… but it was of triumph… and thunderous applause. Jason stared about wildly. Even amidst the strange celebration, he saw Billy and Kimberly pushing through the crowd toward them, the crowd too distracted to impede their progress.

"What. The. F…" Kimberly started, but she wasn't given a chance to finish.

"And to the Power Rangers," the mayor proclaimed grimly, and the applause immediately quieted down, "we have no qualms with you. You have defended us with your own lives, and we will always honor your sacrifice. However, we cannot allow you interfere with this peace. I urge you to support the town's decision, and we welcome your help… but if you interfere, we will be forced to take action against you."

Another round of applause, and Jason started to worry that they were drawing attention to themselves by not joining in.

The mayor smiled, seeming to wave away the violence of her previous sentence. "But there are all sorts of heroes in Angel Grove… those of war, and those of peace. To use Tamara's words, we will indeed have messengers of peace, right from our hometown, who will represent to the world this new wave of cooperation. I am happy to introduce…"

Shit shit shit shit… Jason wanted to run, to teleport away, but there was nowhere to go. He was surrounded and trapped, as surely as if he were surrounded by Putties.

"… the new peace ambassadors of Angel Grove: Trini Kwan, Zack Taylor, and Jason Scott. Please, the three of you take the stage."

Jason barely caught a glimpse of Billy's and Kimberly's faces before he was pushed toward the stage, along with Zack and Trini. Zack looked at him, and the question was palpable on his face… Do we run?

Jason shook his head. They couldn't run. Not in this crowd. There were too many questions that didn't have answers yet… and he didn't want the crowd to turn into an angry mob.

"I know you hadn't prepared for this," Tamara whispered in his ear on his way to being guided to the microphone, "but you'll have to learn to improvise sooner or later."

"Right," Jason whispered back. Improvise. He could do that.

He considered as he looked at the crowd (possible mob). They could easily turn angry. He knew he and his friends could protect themselves, but he was more worried about the crowd itself. A lot of damage could be done if the crowd got enough riled up. And he had no idea what the danger buttons were.

So… as horrible as it sounded… play along.

"Like they said… peace is…" he cleared his throat. "Peace is… well… better than fighting."

God, that was lame.

It met with approval, though. The crowd cheered, Mr. Kaplan gave him a slap on the back, the ambassadors grabbed their hands (Zack and Trini looked ready to bolt) and held them in the air. Jason gave a painful smile, wishing it were all over. This would be a great time for an attack…

But the attack was obviously already going on. Just not the type of attack Jason was used to fighting. After all, he couldn't fight regular people. And it sounded like they were ready to fight him… or, at least, the Red Ranger.

Mr. Kaplan held up his hands.

"I'm sure everyone is ready to get some rest this afternoon. Please return tonight for the Angel Grove peace festival. In the meantime, you might support the brave souls fighting in the ninja tournament at the Angel Grove Youth Center, as they battle it out for who will be worthy to act as Lord Zedd's liaisons to Earth."

The crowd slowly dispersed, and Jason started backing away, grabbing Trini and Zack and stammering apologies.

"I know things are moving fast," Tamara said, "but we're really going to need your help with this. We've never tried anything like this before."

"Wouldn't think so…" Zack said.

Jason elbowed him in the ribs. "And that's why we… need to prepare. I mean, not every day your town…" he searched for a description, "achieves peace."


Goldar chuckled to himself, the low sound echoing through the throne room. He didn't need to worry, though. Finster assured him that Lord Zedd was in a healing sleep. He had plenty of time.

He used the binoculars Finster had cooked up to survey Earth. It had taken him a while to learn how to focus in on just what he needed to see, but now he was quite good. Good enough to savor the expressions on the Rangers' faces.

"Peace… is better than fighting." Goldar smirked. As many self-righteous speeches he'd had to suffer from Jason, it was good to see the Red Ranger struggling for words.

He hit the wall communication panel. "Looks like we're ready for stage 2, Finster."

"There's no going back then," Finster replied. "I will send it down at your notice."

Goldar grinned. Part of him was quaking at his own audacity—launching an attack without knowledge or permission from Lord Zedd. Then again, if Lord Zedd was such a genius, he would have stopped it long before now.

Goldar refocused the binoculars… and watched.


"So… we can explain," Zack started as soon as they teleported to the Command Center. "Well, part of it, anyway. I mean, I don't know what the hell is going on with…"

He trailed off as the air crackled around him, Jason, and Trini. He looked around bewildered, and then to Billy, who had moved immediately to a panel to put a forcefield around the three. Jason and Trini did not look bewildered… just grim.

"Can you do a scan, Alpha?" Billy asked.

"Pretty subtle spell, if that's what it is," Kimberly said, regarding them with crossed arms and a sad expression.

"Um…" Zack tapped the forcefield experimentally, and it crackled in response. "Can anyone tell me what's going on?"

"They think we're under an evil spell," Trini murmured.

"What?! But… we're not," Zack finished lamely, even as Alpha pointed a scanner at them.

"But they've got to be sure," Jason said. "Listen, I know what this looks like, but we've got to hurry this along. Something weird's happening in Angel Grove, and…"

"Where's Zordon?" Kimberly interrupted him. "And Tommy?"

"Tommy has been helping Zordon with a project, Kimberly," Alpha said. "They're in the lower lab, but they'll be here shortly."

"Good," Kimberly said, casting a worried glance at the three confined Rangers.

"Not sure they're listening to us," Trini said to Jason.

Zack rolled his eyes as Alpha continued the scan and Billy and Kimberly eyed them warily. "Come on, it's obvious we're not under a spell. We didn't cause any of that to happen. Like Jason said, something weird is happening, but it's not us."

"You three have been planning the festival," Billy said calmly. "You spoke in support of the surrender to Zedd."

"What was I supposed to say to that mob? Hey, you're all being stupid and crazy and please be stupider and crazier?" Jason shook his head. "We were trapped. Still are," he ended with a mutter.

"It's okay," Trini said. "They'll finish the scan in a moment, and they'll know we're telling the truth."

"Oh, come on," Zack snorted. "We'd never get put under a spell. We…"

He trailed off again at the looks on Billy's and Kimberly's faces.

"Please go on," Kimberly said with a strained voice. "You were about to tell us just how you three could never be put under a spell… because, what? That only happens to people like us?"

Billy's face darkened. "Maybe you think you could have resisted it, right?"

Trini put her hands up and accidentally touched the forcefield with her palms. She pulled back. "No one's saying that. We're just…" She looked desperately at Alpha. "Please finish the scan."

Loud footsteps heralded the arrival of Tommy, closely followed by Zordon's face appearing in his tube.

"Well… this is awkward," Tommy said. "What did they do? Is anyone hurt?"

"Not yet," Billy said. "But we're making sure what we're dealing with before we take any other measures."

Alpha lowered his scanner. "No signs of mental or magical manipulation."

"I can confirm that," Zordon assented. "Billy, please lower the forcefield. Now that you've followed protocol…"

"Then what the hell?!"

Zordon stopped, and the Command Center fell into stunned silence at Billy's outburst. While they'd been scanning the three Power Rangers, he'd been calm and removed. Now, though…

"What, were you just going to phone from Switzerland to let us know?!" Billy's face was turning red. He didn't make a move to lower the forcefield.

Before, Jason, Trini, and Zack had seemed worried. Now, though, in the face of Billy's ire, they looked completely lost.

"What are you talking about?" Kimberly said. "You mean… have they known…"

"They're the Angel Grove representatives to the peace conference," Tommy said, realization dawning on his face.

"How long have you known?" Billy said. "When were you going to tell us?"

"For a few weeks," Jason said. "And we were going to tell you tonight."

"You're leaving?" Kimberly said.

They all stared at each other, at a loss for words. Billy looked like he was trying to rein himself in. Kimberly looked half shocked, half angry. Tommy's face was unreadable… and Jason, Trini, and Zack all looked like they wanted to disappear behind the forcefield.

Tommy moved to the console and silently brought down the forcefield. "Can we maybe pay attention to the mass of crazy that's going on in Angel Grove?"

"We really were going to tell you," Trini said. "We just…"

"Chickened out, if truth be told," Zack finished for her. "But now, if the peace conference is in league with Lord Zedd…"

"I don't believe that to be the case," Zordon said. "There is no indication of the behavior you saw today in the rest of the world: it appears to be isolated to Angel Grove. Billy, could you scan for any aerial toxins? Alpha, provide him with parameters our scans don't usually cover."

Billy and Alpha had barely started the scan when the emergency klaxons went off.

"I'll take over the scan, Billy," Tommy said.

"Looks like Lord Zedd didn't take to peace all that well," Jason commented as they all gathered around the Viewing Globe. A white monster with four faces looking in all directions was walking through the park. It was accompanied by a flank of Putties, but

"And his sense of irony is ever intact," Trini added. "That monster looks like the unity statue in the park."

"Indeed it is," Zordon said. "Its construction is difficult to understand, however. Its abilities are as yet unknown."

"Because of course it is…" Zack said.

Jason looked at Billy and Kimberly, who still looked angry and shocked. "Look, guys… I don't excuse what we did… what I did, to tell the truth… but can we shelve this conversation for after we figure this all out?"

Kimberly rolled her eyes but said nothing.

"We've got no problems with that," Billy said. "After all, we're Power Rangers," he finished with rather heavy irony.

"Okay…" Jason said under his breath, "then let's morph out of here."


The Youth Center raged with barely-controlled fury. Even as ambassadors spoke of peace at the high school, the teamed ninja tournament had devolved into an all-out brawl.

"Remember!" the referee said over the loudspeaker, shouting so that he could be heard over the war cries and grunts of pain, all stealth and discipline forgotten. "Only the last two teams standing will compete to serve Lord Zedd!"

Seeing he was surrounded by not-so-friendlies, Rocky flipped over one set of combatants and dodged behind the bar, the only part of the Youth Center that remained untouched.

"Ow!"

"Shh…"

Aisha frowned and rubbed her leg, which Rocky had just landed on. Adam peeked around the side to see if anyone had noticed, but they were all involved in their own fights.

"You think we're going to get disqualified if we hide?" Rocky whispered.

"Oh, who cares about that now," Aisha snapped. "We all know that this is definitely not proper tournament rules, and since when did this become about serving that ugly alien dude?"

"The whole town's gone crazy," Adam said. "Do we really want to move here?"

"Not sure if we have much of a choice at this point," Rocky said. "And we're not going to get many answers by hiding. Unless the Power Rangers show up stat, it looks like big ugly's going to get himself three psychos as 'liaisons' or whatever."

"Call it by what the word actually means in this case," Adam said. "Assassins. Fitting, considering the history of ninjas."

"That's not who we are," Aisha said. "And I suggest we hightail it out of here and get some help."

"From whom?" Adam pointed out. "As I said, the whole town's gone crazy."

"And who says we need help?" Rocky said, his face splitting in a grin. "I mean, if we just want to figure out what's going on…"

"What craziness are you going to get us into now?" Aisha said warily.

"Not crazy… well, maybe a little," Rocky admitted. "But whatever amount of crazy is going on here, we're apparently not affected. So we're the ones who need to win this fight. That's why we need to not get disqualified… if that's even a thing."

"Infiltrate the enemy…" Adam said.

"So we can get very killed," Aisha finished. "Rocky, out of all the dumb plans you've ever gotten us into, this is by far the dumbest and we're wearing white so we're targets already and I just noticed the doors are guarded by aliens so when do we start?"

Rocky peeped over the bar. "It's down to four teams… so right about now."


Even when the Power Rangers were angry at each other, they knew their duty. They wordlessly settled into their attack formations.

Kimberly, as usual, stayed at the outside of the Putty formation. She could best use her gymnastics-inspired fighting where there was more room, and, having a long-distance weapon, she could edge her way to getting a clear shot at the monster with her bow.

Zack stayed at the highest concentration of the Putties. Hip hop kido, as he called his fighting style, took a lot of inspiration from breakdancing, so he could essentially cover 360 degrees around himself. Along with his axe, the heaviest and cleavie-est of the weapons, he could usually take town twice as many Putties as the others.

Billy ran to the other edge of the Putties. His methodical fighting style meant that he could take down Putties with regularity, and he could achieve the best vantage point to observe the monster. While he chopped away at Putties, he turned his brains to assessing any of the monster's weaknesses.

Jason and Trini worked closest to the monster. Their weapons were made for in-fighting, and they were the smartest fighters. This time, though, they were faced with a monster that not only had four faces, but seemed to be able to attack from any direction, so their usual distract-and-attack strategy wasn't working.

"That thing's quick," Trini said, redirecting her energies to the Putties after the third time the monster had evaded her attacks.

"It even dodged one of Kim's arrows," Jason said. "We gotta take these Putties down so we can all focus on the monster."

They took the Putties down, though not in short order. Even with their re-energized powers, thanks to the new Zords, the Putties did their work in draining energy. Each hit to the Z meant a disintegrated Putty, but it also meant pain and fatigue.

The five regrouped, facing the monster, who had only dodged and deflected their attacks, not giving away any of its capabilities except for speed and dexterity.

"Weapons together?" Zack suggested.

Jason shook his head. "It's too quick. We need time to put them together. We need to surround. Divide its attention."

They knew what to do, had practiced this before. Jason stayed at where they guessed was the front, while Trini took the back and Billy and Zack took the sides. They all ran in for the attack, all scoring hits, and while they evaded any attacks from the monster, Kimberly launched into the air and fired shots from above. The monster fell back and sparks flew.

Jason frowned. The monster wasn't weak, he could tell that, but it hadn't attacked at all. It was just taking the hits, and then waiting for more.

"Hang back," Jason said before the others could launch another attack. "I don't like it."

"Yeah… this looks pretty bad," Trini agreed. She pointed, not at the monster, but past it.

The mob, the one that Jason had been dreading, had finally arrived. A mass of people, made up of fellow students, civilians, and policemen, were making their way across the street to the park.

"Power Rangers!" a policeman leading the crew shouted. "I'm authorized by the mayor and the city council to ask you to cease all fighting."

"Yeah, leave the monster alone!" a boy shouted.

The crowd started yelling their assent, and, before the Rangers knew it, several had positioned themselves between the Rangers and the monster.

"Oh, come on!" Zack shouted. "I know everyone surrendered and all that, but it's obvious Lord Zedd didn't take that surrender, or else he wouldn't have sent a monster."

"Might not want to agitate the masses," Billy warned.

"I was watching the fight from across the street," a woman next to the policeman said. "I reported it. Neither the 'monster' nor the Putties attacked anyone until you Power Rangers showed up."

Jason bit back a curse. That was the play. The monster hadn't attacked, because it wanted the Rangers to attack. To attack unprovoked.

"Listen," Jason said, scanning the policeman's name badge. "Lieutenant Stone? This monster is an invader of Earth, and falls under our jurisdiction. It's not up to Angel Grove, whether it be the mayor, the city council, or literally anyone else. This is a much bigger war than what's going on here." He dropped his voice. "So move away from the monster before things turn nasty."

"You're wrong, sorry, Red Ranger," Stone answered. "That is the Unity statue you're trying to destroy, and no matter what mutations it has gone through, it's still city property. You are fighting in a city park, against the wishes of the city itself, and representatives of the city's citizens are begging you to stop." He dropped his voice as well. "You want to fight your war, you do it someplace else. Do it in space, where you can't hurt anyone except your own fool selves. If you fight here… I'm authorized to arrest you."

"You idiots!" Kimberly surged forward. "Lord Zedd doesn't want peace! He wants compliance. He wants you to stop fighting so you can die or be enslaved easier. No treaties or peace accords. Just death and destruction."

"I come in peace."

A chorus of four said this, and it took a moment to realize that the words weren't originating from the mob, but from the four heads of the monster.

"I come in peace."

Jason hung his head. They'd been beaten before they even tried to teleport down. This had all been a set-up.

"You want your monster, you got it," Jason said. "I hope we'll be able to fight it once it turns against you… and that it won't take losing people to show you what it really is."

He motioned to the others to teleport out, leaving people at the mercy of the monster… again.


"You know, I really don't like surrendering," Zack groused. "At least I didn't get shot this time."

He glanced at Kimberly, realizing what he'd just said. She was staring pointedly away from him, at the Viewing Globe.

The Viewing Globe was not showing the park where their aborted battle had taken place. Instead, it showed the interior of the Youth Center, where a far bloodier battle raged.

The wall was lined with injured teenagers, but only a few people were attending to them. Instead, all attention was centered on six combatants in the center of the ring, both teams dressed head to toe as ninjas. The team wearing white was obviously winning.

"So that's happening," Tommy said. "Looks like it's just as Mr. Kaplan said. Grand prize is to act as 'Lord Zedd's liaisons'…"

"Assassins?" Trini supplied.

"Of course," Tommy said. "But this isn't coming out of nowhere. Scan shows definite toxins in the air. Anyone had a headache in the past week?"

"I thought it was exams," Billy said.

"That, too… but it's mostly from something Lord Zedd put in Angel Grove about a week ago, the scan says. Probably some sort of brainwash-y thing."

"Tommy is correct," Zordon said. "You are immune from the worst of it because of your Power Coins, and all of your families seem to be shielded as well."

"I've contacted all of your families and asked them to stay at home, Rangers," Alpha interjected.

"Thanks, Alpha," Jason said. "In the meantime, we need to find whatever it is that's brainwashing everyone, and be prepared to protect everyone when the monster finally does attack."

"And what about the victors in the Youth Center?" Kimberly said. "Looks like those Putties are going to act as escort, and you know Lord Zedd's going to use them against us."

"Fighting's getting pretty bloody down there," said Trini. "And those ninjas in white look vicious. I don't even want to think about facing them with whatever power upgrades Zedd gives them."

"Both Rita and Zedd have wanted their own human warriors," Billy said. "It looks like Zedd is finally achieving that goal… without trying to corrupt one of us."

"Why corrupt one of us when he can corrupt a whole town right under our noses?" Zack said. "So what are we going to do?"

Silence. The Rangers stared at the Viewing Globe, wishing they could interfere, but knowing it would only make things worse, and wishing they had an idea in hell what to do. If they did try to interfere, they would be faced with fighting all of the humans in the tournament, as well as whatever opponents Zedd tried to send. All a recipe for disaster.

As they watched, the shortest of the white ninjas felled the last opponent, and the referee announced them as the winners.

"And the winners, the team from Stone Canyon…"

"Oh, God…" Kimberly said. "Not…"

The Viewing Globe focused in on the three victors as they removed their head coverings.

"Rocky de Santos, Aisha Campbell, and Adam Park are our new liaisons to Lord Zedd!" the referee finished.

The three stared grimly ahead as the Putties pushed their way to the three victors, grabbed them, and teleported out.