NEW POLL: Who should go to and stay in the REGULAR dimension, aka the GOOD Power Rangers dimension? Please vote in this poll at the top of my profile page (click on Rogue Ranger to the top left of this). Remember, you can also make your opinion known by reviewing.
PREVIOUS POLL RESULTS: How do you feel about having a character DIE? 50% somewhat to completely against no matter who it is. 38% open to if it's someone from Tobi's dimension. And, no, this doesn't mean that I killed off 38% of the characters from Tobi's dimension, but…
WARNING! WARNING!: This chapter contains a lot more violence than I have had in any other chapter. Also, it's pretty much action-centric which is not my strongest genre, so let me know what you think. No, it's not all action. As always, there's plenty of drama. And, yes, as the previous poll suggested, there is DEATH in this chapter… as in characters die! Don't say you weren't warned…
Review Comments:
Thanks griffin blackwood for reviewing the last two chapters! I guess, since you say you didn't vote in the poll about what past gen characters to add, it was either a coincidence or some people who read your story voted. And, no human milk in this chapter!
Thanks YellowPrincess for your neverending praise for the last chapter! I'll definitely consider pairing up Dustin and Tobi in the good PR dimension, but I'll also create a poll when the time comes. As far as why Dustin and Hunter kiss, he may say that it's "for fun" or whatever, but what you said gave me an idea that I'll address in the next chapter. I'll try to really get inside Dustin's mind. This chapter is really different, so I hope you don't go crazy once you read it to the end…
Thanks Magichalo for thinking none of the last chapter was fluff after all! This one is definitely much more serious. And thank you very much for pointing out that the action scenes were not easy to follow. I went back and modified them in the last chapter, but don't worry! You don't need to re-read it since I have tried to make things clearer in this chapter and to answer your questions during the action. It's kind of fast paced, though, so please let me know how it comes out!
Thanks FinalJudgement for saying twice in one review that you love my story! I would like to say not to worry, that I didn't kill off any characters you mentioned, but then I'd be giving away something and I have to torture my readers by making them wonder who lives and who dies… Well, okay, I certainly hope it's not torture. Everything happens for a reason. But, not everyone can make it through alive…
Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:
Cam and Tobi meet the eccentric Goldwinger, who tells them a guinea pig and robot owl stole his Zord that can travel between dimensions. Tobi makes Dustin an "Awesome Dude!" costume and, on the way to delivering it, he runs into Marah, who apologizes. The two then see Hunter and Dustin kissing in the park and Tobi convinces Marah to make up with Dustin. After Dustin kisses Marah and Tobi sings, the rangers go to a quarry where the Dragon Zord is. It turns out to be a trap, but Tobi saves the day until Kimberly and Billy show up and morph. When Tobi and Dr. Oliver touch, they both become incapacitated. Grumpy Sensei, Circuit and Goldwinger's Zord have to save them all as Tobi's touch causes the Dragon Zord to transform. Cam finishes the rangers' Megazord configuration and Shane, Tori and Dustin enter their Megazord to attack the massive Dragon Xord that now has wings. But, no sooner do the rangers have the upper hand then the Dragon Zord is transported to the park, where Marah, her cousin Geo and the dog Destiny are...
Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 26 (Sacrifices)
"I've calculated a pattern in the path of the Dragon Zord," Cam's voice announced from the rangers' morphers. "It has been progressively heading toward what my father calls the Abyss of Evil. It must be stopped before it reaches its destination."
Without another word, Shane, Tori and Dustin piloted their Megazord while Hunter, Blake and Tobi streaked to the park.
When the rangers arrived at the park, the winged Dragon Zord was smashing its way through trees and picnic tables while humans, aliens and kelzacks ran for cover. It may have been slightly shorter than the rangers' Storm Megazord, but it more than made up for that with its sizable girth.
"Man, I really miss our Zords, bro," Blake commented upon ending his streak and assessing the situation.
"Tell me about it," Hunter agreed just as—Blast!—a stream of fire came shooting out of the Dragon Zord's mouth.
The two thunder rangers and Tobi quickly streaked aside just as the grass and nearby trees burst into flames.
"Woah!" Blake yelled. "Since when can it blow fire?"
"Since it grew wings," Hunter concluded, shrugging.
Tobi furrowed his brow, thinking. A scream distracted him as a couple kelzacks had caught on fire. The thunder brothers rushed over to help them as Hunter raised his wrist.
"Tor, we need some rain out here," Hunter told his morpher as he coughed from the smoke.
"I'll see what I can do," Tori's voice replied.
Tobi looked up as the rangers' Megazord slashed repeatedly at the Dragon Zord before he tended to the kelzacks' injuries. He decided to raise his own wrist. "Cam, do you read me?" he asked.
"I'm here, Tobi," Cam replied with a sigh, "but I'm a little busy. What's wrong?"
"Earlier, when we were in the quarry, I accidently touched the Dragon Zord and it started to turn gold," Tobi explained. "It also grew wings and now it can shoot flames."
"And you think you caused that?" Cam asked. "It could easily be a coincidence."
"Maybe," Tobi agreed as it started to rain enough to put out the surrounding fires, "but I think it's more than that. Energy was flowing from the Sun Amulet to the Dragon Zord. And, I saw what I think is the Shade Amulet on Doctor Oliver. If we could—"
"You think he's using his amulet to control the Zord," Cam interrupted. "I wondered the same thing. If that's true, that would explain how he summoned the Zord, but I still don't' see where your amulet comes into play."
"I don't know either, but I think we need to focus on getting the Shade Amulet away from Doctor Oliver," Tobi suggested.
"So, we'll need to draw him out of the Dragon Zord again," Cam concluded just as Tobi jumped aside to avoid a flying tree that had been toppled by the Dragon Zord's tail.
"When me and Doctor Oliver came in contact with each other, we were both unable to move for a moment," Tobi added, wiping rain and mud off his face. "I think it has to do with our amulets. If I could just get to him, then you guys can move in."
"Easier said than done," Cam commented, "especially with his friends being—Hold on, Tobi." He interrupted himself before addressing, "Shane, Tori and Dustin, you are go for Storm Megazord Lighting Mode!"
Suddenly the rangers' Megazord transformed into a sleeker giant robot that was able to more rapidly attack the Dragon Zord. But, speed made little difference as the Dragon Zord still didn't so much as develop a single dent.
"Look out!" Hunter yelled toward Tobi, as the park's fountain was knocked right out of the ground, where it then rolled into a tree, causing both to topple over. Water was now spraying out of the ground, combining with the rain to make even more mud.
As the fleeing park dwellers slipped in the mud, so did both Zords. "Cam, we're not making a difference out here," Shane complained.
"We're totally being showed up," Dustin agreed. "We like need a plan."
"I'm doing what I can," Cam responded sharply.
"We know you are, Cam," Tori chimed in, "but I never thought I'd agree with Dustin. We need a strategy."
Just then, the rangers' Megazord was thrown to the ground. The Dragon Zord immediately began drilling into it with its tail. Sparks started spraying out from the metal on metal contact as the Megazord powered down from its more agile Lighting Mode.
"I'm sending you two Power Spheres for the Turbine Combo," Cam told the others. "I've scanned the Dragon Zord's interior and I've identified what can only be described as its heart. I think that's what absorbs and stores energy. Aim directly for its chest and be as close as possible."
A moment later, the rangers' Megazord produced two weapons, a lion-shaped laser and a squid-shaped drill. Combining the two weapons into one handheld drilling gun, the Megazord shoved the new weapon against the Dragon Zord's chest and fired. The spinning blast sent the Dragon Zord flying backward, but after its chest stopped glowing from the combined drilling and the blast of energy, it was once again undamaged.
"No way!" Shane protested. "It's not even phased."
As the Dragon Zord stomped its way back over to the rangers' Megazord, Tobi activated his communicator. "Dustin, can you make the ground swallow up the Dragon Zord?" he asked. "The rain's made it soft, so…"
"Yeah," Dustin's voice agreed. "But I need to be on the ground."
"Why do you need to be outside, Dustin?" Tori asked.
"Come on, Tor, you know I need to like be one with my element," Dustin explained.
"Cam, can we still control the Megazord without him?" Shane asked.
"I'll see what I can do," Cam agreed, "but Dustin, do it fast."
"No prob," Dustin agreed. "I'll be super fast, dude."
Tobi watched as Dustin jumped out of the Megazord and landed near him. He grinned before facing the Dragon Zord and closing his eyes.
The ground began to shake as the earth underneath the heavy Dragon Zord seemed to almost melt under its massive feet. It slipped in the mud before sinking into the ground as if it were quicksand. Its claws pulled a few trees under with it.
The Megazord stood over the soft ground as Dustin hardened it. Tobi heard a commotion and looked over just in time to see Lothor with his allies. One of the aliens was already firing at Dustin and Tobi barely had time to raise his arms before Hunter had streaked in the way and taken the blast to his chest. As he fell to the ground, Dustin opened his eyes and ran over to him.
Tobi approached the two and deflected another shot from one of the aliens back at Lothor's group.
"You okay, dude?" Dustin asked, helping Hunter up.
"Yeah," he grunted, clutching his chest as Blake approached.
"Can't you see we're trying to help here?" Tobi asked, now standing between Lothor and the rangers.
"He has a point," Vexacus agreed. "They did bury the other Zord."
Lothor furrowed his masked brow. "I'm not the fool everyone thinks I am," he commented, mostly to himself. The kelzacks with him stood ready to fight.
"Where's Marah when you need her?" Tobi thought outloud before addressing his communicator. "Tori, you talked to this Lothor before. Can you convince him now?"
There was a moment of silence as Tori jumped out of the Megazord and approached. She stopped when she noticed Hunter clutching his chest. "What happened?" she asked, opening her visor.
"Just a trigger happy monster," he replied. "I'll be fine. The suit heals after all."
"Sure," she agreed, approaching Tobi. "Tobi," she began just as Dustin called, "TZT." She gave him a quick gesture, saying, "Go ahead, Dustin."
"I was just gonna ask Tobi to help Hunter," he told her.
A grin curled up on her lips as she turned to Tobi. "Me too," she agreed.
"I'm on it," he told her, his eyes glancing between her and Dustin. "Everybody loves Hunter," he commented with a sigh.
Dustin and Tori both gave him panicked looks. "We're just… friends," Tori assured him. "Good friends."
"And, dude, I don't know if I like… love him," Dustin defended. "I like him a lot and I like kissing him, but I like kissing, you know?"
Tobi rolled his eyes and walked over to Hunter as Tori demorphed while approaching Lothor. "Do you remember me?" she asked him. I helped convince you to fight back against the Power Rangers, but these aren't the same Power Rangers."
Just then, the gold Moth Zord flew past them before backtracking. It seemed to be flying away from Goldwinger, who was hovering after it. The Moth Zord zigzagged a few more times, causing Goldwinger to zigzag after it.
"What's going on?" Lothor asked as Goldwinger paused in his pursuit and landed in front of Lothor. "Goldwinger?" Lothor asked, surprised.
"You guys know each other?" Tobi asked, glancing between Goldwinger and Lothor as he placed a hand on Hunter.
Hunter took a sharp breath as his chest healed. "Thanks," he offered.
"No pr—" Tobi began before having to clutch his amulet.
"Tobi, are you alright?" Tori asked him.
"Yeah," he replied. "Healing just drains me, but the amulet somehow recharges my energy."
She gave the glowing amulet around his neck a curious look as Goldwinger continued.
"We went to school together back in the day," Goldwinger explained. "We both did well in art. Of course, back then, he went by Kiya."
"Kiya?" a voice echoed from behind Goldwinger. The others turned to see grumpy Sensei flying over atop Circuit. "So, it's true that you are my twin brother."
"Ah, my adorable little thieves have finally given up!" Goldwinger declared with a clap of his hands.
"Twin brother?" Lothor repeated, stepping around Goldwinger to get a better look at his brother.
I wasn't always a guinea pig," Sensei pointed out. "It's me, Kanoi Watanabe."
Lothor backed up so that Goldwinger was once again between him and Sensei. Then he squinted and a smile curved up on his mouth. "It looks like karma has finally caught up with you, Kiya."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sensei snapped, using Circuit to fly him closer to Lothor.
Lothor instinctively hid behind Goldwinger, who gave him a funny look.
"You're still afraid of me," Sensei noticed.
"No—no," Lothor disagreed, stepping out from behind Goldwinger. "I may have changed my name and hidden my identity," he said, gesturing to his mask, "but I'm not still… afraid of you."
"Lothor," Sensei mused. "I should have figured it out even before these rangers from another dimension suggested the idea. After all, who else but my scaredy cat brother would go by the name of an ancient coward?"
Lothor cringed. "I'm—I'm not still a coward," he defended. "I'm the mayor of this city and I have exercised my responsibility as—"
Suddenly the ground burst open and the Dragon Zord shot out, throwing the Megazord backward as it flew out of its underground tomb and hovered on its wings. A burst of flames shot from its mouth. Tori redirected the water from the now trashed fountain against the fire, extinguishing it. "Dustin, come on!" she called as she morphed and jumped back into the Megazord.
"So, there really is another dimension," Lothor pondered, moving to take cover behind some fallen trees. "And I thought it was just a game Goldwinger liked to play, like meet my imaginary friends."
"They're from that other dimension and I'm trying to get them back," Sensei said, looking at Goldwinger.
"Well, you could have just asked!" Goldwinger told him. "How could I say not to you or your absolutely gorgeous friends?" He looked Dustin's water and mud soaked skin-tight spandex up and down.
"Then I guess we're all on the same side…" Lothor reluctantly agreed.
Dustin turned to head back to the Megazord just as Geo came running toward the group. "Awesome Dude! Dustin!" he called, slipping halfway and sliding in the mud.
"Geodude, what're you doing here?" Dustin asked, helping him up.
"It's Marah!" Geo told him. "She's in trouble!"
Dustin's eyes widened. "Where!"
Geo began running and Dustin followed him. Tobi looked to Hunter and Blake. Hunter opened his visor and gave him a worried look before the three followed Dustin and Geo.
"There!" Geo yelled, pointing toward a toppled tree that Kapri was trying to lift.
"Marah?" Dustin asked, running around the tree.
"Dus—Dustin," Marah grunted from beneath the tree.
Dustin and Geo both tried to lift the tree off Marah before the morphed thunder rangers nodded toward each other. The brothers easily lifted the tree, hurling it aside.
Kapri gasped as she saw Marah's crushed body. "Marah," she choked out.
"I c-can't feel my…" Marah stuttered, her eyes rolling back into her head.
"Marah!" Dustin shouted, panic in his voice.
All she managed was a choking sound.
"TZT!" Dustin yelled. "Help her!"
Tobi immediately knelt down beside Marah's broken body and focused on healing her. The injuries were much more extensive than he had ever treated before, but he quickly saw the familiar flames spreading over her body. He reached out and clutched his amulet tightly as he felt his energy draining. He still fell forward, as the amulet couldn't recharge him quite as fast as Marah's healing process progressed.
Marah gasped, blinking heavily and raising her arms to touch her chest. After a moment, Dustin and Kapri helped her to her feet. "How do you feel?" Dustin asked her.
"Fine," she breathed, surprised.
"Why'd you come back?" Kapri asked.
Marah blinked, as if still dazed. "Destiny," she realized, looking around.
"Destiny!" Geo called, whistling.
"Destiny Chocolate Brooks!" Dustin yelled.
"I see her!" Kapri declared, bending over near Marah.
The others squinted as Kapri dug a wet brown ball of fur out of the mud where the toppled tree had been.
The others gathered around as she brushed the mud off Destiny.
"Why's she not moving?" Geo asked, holding her cape that had fallen off.
Dustin reached out, taking Destiny from Kapri. He ran a hand through her fur as Marah approached and listened for breathing or a heartbeat. She looked up at Dustin with a horrified expression.
"No!" Dustin yelled, running over to Tobi and forcing Destiny into his arms. "Make her okay," he pleaded.
Tobi held the limp dog awkwardly in his arms as he focused, but nothing happened. He tried focusing harder, but he couldn't find anything to grab on to. He looked up at Dustin, into his moist chocolate eyes filled with both fear and hope and whispered, "I can't. She's… dead."
"Try harder!" Dustin insisted.
"I am… but there's no life left to work with," Tobi explained. "There has to be something for—"
"You have to!" Dustin demanded, running a shaky hand over Destiny's lifeless head before looking into Tobi's eyes.
"Dustin, I…" Tobi began, but he couldn't finish. The look in Dustin's eyes was killing him, but what could he do?
"TZT, Tobi, I believe in you…" Dustin told him.
Tobi immediately closed his eyes again and kept focusing on trying to heal Destiny, but he still turned up no results. He opened his eyes, staring back at Dustin with a guilty look.
"Bro, what about a jolt of electricity?" Blake suggested to Hunter.
"Tobi, put her down," Hunter said.
Doing as he was instructed, Tobi set Destiny's body back in the mud. Hunter raised his palms toward the dog and sparks of lightning streaked from his hands to Destiny. Her body jumped from the electricity as it flickered through a nearby puddle. Hunter looked at Tobi, who kneeled next to her.
Focusing, Tobi closed his eyes. There was still nothing to ignite unless he wanted to set her body on fire. He shook his head, so Hunter shot another arc of electricity into her body. Tobi shook his head again and again Hunter electrocuted Destiny's lifeless form.
"Dude, what's that smell?" Dustin asked, crinkling his nose as Tobi again shook his head.
Marah covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. "He's… burning her," she realized. "Stop it!"
Hunter paused, looking at Dustin, who bit his bottom lip and looked between Marah, Destiny and Tobi. "Do it again," he told Hunter.
Hunter nodded before continuing. Meanwhile, Tobi continued to focus on finding some spark of life as smoke began to rise off the electrocuted fur. Geo grabbed Marah around the legs, burying his face in her jeans and balling the cape in his hand into a fist. He cried as Marah ran a hand through his hair.
"Bro—" Blake began.
"I'm not stopping until Dustin says to," Hunter interrupted him. He looked at Dustin, the earth ninja's eyes wide with horror and shock. Deep down, Hunter knew that Dustin wasn't going to ask to stop, even if the dog that Dustin had rescued were a pile of ash.
"Dustin," Cam's voice called from Dustin's morpher. "Where are you? Shane and Tori need you."
Dustin just continued to stare at Destiny's smoldering body.
Blake gave his brother another silent warning look.
Suddenly Tobi spotted a tiny flicker of something. He latched all his concentration onto it before it could fully vanish and focused hard. "I have…" Tobi started, loosing the ability to talk as he concentrated further. He had managed to hold onto that tiny glowing strand of life, but he couldn't seem to ignite it. He got on his knees and held onto Destiny's body, continuing to concentrate as the others watched in silence.
The stench of burning fur was overpowering, but he tried to ignore it until… Finally, the thread expanded and her body glowed with flames as he fell face first into the mud.
Hunter, Blake and Dustin immediately turned him over and saw that his skin was pale and he wasn't breathing. Hunter forced the Sun Amulet into his palm and watched as it began to glow.
Dustin lifted Tobi's other hand and held it for a moment, staring down at him. "Will he be okay?" he asked Hunter.
"I… hope so," Hunter replied just as they both heard barking.
Dustin immediately dropped Tobi's hand and spun around, a mixture of shock and joy on his face as he saw Destiny jumping around.
Geo picked up Destiny and showed her to Marah as Dustin approached them with a big smile on his face.
Hunter looked back down at Tobi as he started breathing again and his eyes fluttered open. "Thanks," Hunter whispered to him.
"That was so awesome!" Dustin declared, turning back to Tobi. He ran over and pulled Tobi off the ground and into a hug in one motion.
"No problem," he told Dustin, closing his eyes and grinning as Dustin held him a moment longer before giving him a quick kiss right on the lips and then releasing him and running back to Marah, Geo and Destiny.
The moment he was released, Tobi started to fall backward, but Hunter caught him. He looked up at the crimson ranger, who offered him a confused but appreciative smile.
Just then, sounds of a large number of people moving through the trees drew their attention. Frax was leading the Golden Guardians.
Marah immediately stepped in front of them. "The Power Rangers are on our side," she declared.
"I believe you," Frax stated, raising his mechanical arms. "We are here to stop the Zord."
"How are you guys going to stop a Zord?" Blake asked skeptically.
Wes and Eric stepped forward and Frax threw them each something that they attached to their wrists. "They have finally convinced me that Power Ranger abilities… all of them, can be used for good," Frax continued as Wes and Eric both morphed into Power Rangers.
"Woah!" Geo declared. "More Power Rangers!"
"More good Power Rangers," Marah agreed.
"Time Force!" Dustin added.
"I missed this," Wes commented, looking over his red and white outfit.
"And I missed how your butt looks in tights," Eric agreed. Wes turned to him. "You know you like being teased," Eric insisted.
"Let's get to work," Wes said, pulling out a gun as Eric did the same. The two then ran off toward the Zord battle.
"Dustin?" Cam's voice called from his morpher.
"Oh, hey, sorry dude," Dustin realized, hitting his forehead with his palm. "I'm on my way!" He gave the others a quick look before streaking off.
Hunter watched him go before turning to Marah. "Marah, I was wondering… how you feel about Dustin," he asked her.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Do you… love him?" he clarified with a forced calm expression.
She sighed, looking away. "Well, as a child of the earth, I love everyone," she offered with a coy smile, "but… I know he's special and I also know he said he chose you."
"He told you that?" Hunter asked. "So, he doesn't…"
"If you're asking how he feel about me," she re[plied, "I don't think even he really knows how he feels about anyone. He says he doesn't love anyone yet, but I don't know." She frowned, thinking. "I think he's just a little confused right now."
Hunter looked down. "Confused… right," he agreed. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked over to see Tobi.
"Dustin does care about you," Tobi whispered.
"I know," Hunter replied before addressing the Golden Guardians. "Frax, can some of your men make sure they get out of here safely?" he asked, gesturing toward Marah, Kapri, Geo and Destiny.
"Certainly," Frax replied, turning to some of the Golden Guardians, who surrounded them and proceeded to escort them.
"Oh, wait!" Marah said, stopping and grabbing something from Kapri before running over to Tobi. "Thanks for everything you did," she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "As Dustin would say, you're awesome! Speaking of Dustin, can you give this to him?" she asked, handing Tobi a cd. "It's a recording of our performances. It even has today's on it and it might actually be our last here for a while, so…"
"I'm sure he'll love it," Tobi suggested, taking the cd from her.
"I hope so too," she agreed, waving as she and her companions were escorted out of the park just as a shadow passed overhead.
Hunter, Blake and Tobi looked up to see a wave of dark clouds rolling in as the rain started back up, harder this time. Tobi raised his wrist. "Tori," he addressed, "I think things are wet enough. You can lay off the rain."
"I'm not making it rain anymore, Tobi," Tori's voice corrected. "I can't control the weather all the time."
Tobi frowned, looking to Hunter, who seemed to be concentrating.
"It's a thunder storm," Blake said, looking to his brother just as a crackle of thunder made his point.
"And it's not a natural one," Hunter added as lightning struck a nearby tree.
"What does that mean?" Frax asked, checking to make sure his Golden Guardians were okay.
"We're going to find out," Tobi told him as Blake and Hunter streaked back out of the trees and toward the Zord battle.
Lothor and his allies were firing up at the Dragon Zord as Wes and Eric combined their weapons and also fired, but the Dragon Zord just ignored them as it continued to clash against the rangers' Megazord.
"Wes! Eric!" Circuit greeted, flying over to the two, Sensei still sitting on the robotic owl's head.
"Circuit!" Eric greeted. "We missed you."
"How can I help?" Circuit offered.
"Are you still in contact with the future?" Wes asked.
"Yes, but the others are in prison and the Zords have been destroyed," Circuit explained. "Even Trip is in prison…"
Wes' aim faltered for a moment.
"You okay?" Eric asked him.
"Yeah," Wes agreed. "We're just gonna have to do this on our own."
Eric put an arm on Wes' shoulder. "We're not on our own, Wes."
Tobi streaked to a stop and assessed the situation. "Aim at the Dragon Zord's chest," Tobi told the combined forces while raising his wrist. "Dustin, you guys keep focusing on the Dragon Zord's chest. If we all focus our attack in one area, maybe we can make a difference. Cam says that's where its power is coming from."
Hunter and Blake nodded, sending lighting toward the Dragon Zord. A stray bolt of lighting struck the ground near Goldwinger. "Ah! Watch it!" he complained.
"That wasn't us," Blake told him.
"Even all of their weapons combined won't be enough," Circuit told Tobi.
"Why not?" Tobi asked the owl.
"The Zord was banished to the center of the earth ten thousand years ago," Circuit explained. It has withstood the pressure of rock and magma all that time.
A bolt of lightning struck both Zords as thunder echoed through the now completely cloud covered sky. It had quickly become nearly pitch black under the dark cloud canopy.
Tobi raised his communicator again. "Cam, Circuit says we're not going to be able to stop the Dragon Zord."
"I heard," Cam's voice replied. "Circuit, in order to help the Power Rangers, you must search your vast memory to find a way to penetrate the Dragon Zord's armor."
"I understand," Circuit replied. "You have to get off me now."
"What?" Sensei complained. "Oh, fine!" he agreed, hopping off Circuit and onto Tobi's shoulder.
"Here, take this," Circuit told Tobi, ejecting something from his body.
Tobi took the circuit panel in his hands, confused as Circuit flew off.
"What's Circuit doing?" Cam asked.
Tobi raised his wrist. "I don't know. He gave me this circuit board thing. I hope it's water proof."
"What does the circuit board say?" Cam asked.
Tobi turned the board around until he read, "Memory Panel 2." He frowned. "Why's he giving me his memory?"
"Of course," Cam realized. "Circuit is programed to help the Power Rangers."
"Yeah, so?" Tobi replied.
"It's also powered by a one and a half inch Quantum Reactor Drive," Cam explained.
Tobi looked up as Circuit flew directly toward the Dragon Zord. "You mean… Circuit's going to self destruct?" Tobi began to understand. "Everyone hold your fire," he told the others. "And, Shane, Dustin, Tori, get back."
"What's Circuit doing?" Eric asked, lowering his weapon.
"Why? What's—" Shane's voice began to ask just as a bright white explosion blasted out from where Circuit had been only seconds ago. Everyone was thrown backward, including the rangers' Megazord.
"Circuit! No!" Wes yelled, scrambling to his feet.
"Wes," Eric said softly, holding him back as bits of debris rained down on them.
"Circuit…" Wes whispered as Eric wrapped his arms around him.
"He was an adorable little thief," Goldwinger commented, sniffling.
"And awfully brave for a robot," Sensei added.
As the smoke cleared, the Dragon Zord had a hole in its chest. Sparks were shooting out as more lightning flickered overhead. "Reach in and grab the heart," Cam told Shane, Tori and Dustin.
The Megazord stuck its hand into the Dragon Zord's chest as the Dragon Zord clawed and shot fire at its attacker. But, as the rangers' Megazord pulled out a large silver and black device, the Dragon Zord froze.
"This ends here," Shane commented as the Megazord's grasp closed around the Dragon Zord's heart, crushing it. The Dragon Zord fell limp, its lights out and power finally gone.
"It's finally over," Lothor declared, "thanks to the Power Rangers. I owe you all an apology."
"It is not over," Frax corrected as a stream of black smoke poured out of the now incapacitated Zord and landed on the ground, where it formed Dr. Oliver, Kimberly, Billy and Alpha 6.
"You'll pay for what you've done," Dr. Oliver growled. "You'll all pay."
"Take them out," Frax ordered, sending the morphed Wes and Eric along with the rest of the Golden Guardians forward.
"Those would be the Power Rangers we're here to defeat," Sensei told Lothor.
Lothor nodded before sending his aliens and kelzacks forward.
Meanwhile, Kimberly was quickly appearing and disappearing from one location to another, knocking down whoever she could reach. Billy was tag teaming with Alpha 6 against the thunder rangers and time force rangers. Dr. Oliver only briefly became solid long enough to send out blasts of lightning that mixed with the lightning coming from the clouds overhead.
As some lightning flickered through the dark, Tobi thought he saw a group of people gathered at the edge of the park, but he shrugged it off and raised his communicator. "Guys, I'm going to try to get to Doctor Oliver," he said. "The moment we touch, we'll both be out for a few seconds. That'll be your cue to grab his amulet."
Just then, Dr. Oliver launched a streak of black webbing toward the unmorphed Golden Guardians, who instantly fell forward. Tobi jumped to help them as he saw their eyes turn black. As he healed them, he noticed Kimberly and Billy both dimorph.
"What happened?" Billy asked, looking at his bare hands.
"I told you the power wouldn't last," Dr. Oliver reminded them.
Frax's and Lothors forces combined to take the opportunity to capture, Kimberly and Billy while Tobi used his amulet to recover.
"Don't move," Wes growled, pointing a gun at Billy.
"Give me a reason," Hunter told Kimberly, his arms crossed as Eric approached and pointed his gun toward her.
"You're all under arrest," Frax told them as Goldwinger helped Shimazu tackle Alpha 6.
"Tommy, help us!" Kimberly pleaded toward Dr. Oliver.
Dr. Oliver paused for a moment before becoming solid and raising his arms, but suddenly a giant hand grabbed him. It was the rangers' Megazord. "Tobi, do your thing!" Shane's voice called from Tobi's communicator.
Tobi shook off his lingering fatigue and streaked toward the hand clutched around Dr. Oliver, a hand that could have just crushed him and ended it. But, before he reached the Megazord, Dr. Oliver had already turned back into black smoke that seeped out of the massive metal fingers. Tobi jumped off the Megazord's hand, throwing himself directly into the black smoke.
Instantly, both Dr. Oliver and Tobi fell to the ground. Hunter streaked to catch Tobi as Blake streaked to Dr. Oliver. Shane, Tori and Dustin were all out of the Megazord in a flash and on the momentarily motionless Dr. Oliver.
"Got it!" Dustin shouted as he pulled at the amulet on Dr. Oliver's belt. "Dude, it's stuck!"
Tori pulled out her Ninja Sword and cut the amulet off Dr. Oliver's belt morpher, accidently drawing some blood from his stomach. She glanced nervously at Shane.
"Don't worry about it," Shane told her.
Dr. Oliver immediately tried to escape by turning into smoke, but nothing happened. There was a flicker of panic in his normally fierce eyes as lightning reflected in his pupils.
Frax approached Dr. Oliver. "You will not escape this time," he told Dr. Oliver, shooting something out of his finger.
Dr. Oliver's body twitched before he passed out.
"What was that?" Tori asked.
"I have made him unconscious, so that he will not have to suffer," Frax explained, rasing his opposite hand.
"Suffer?" Shane repeated.
"He is too dangerous to allow to live," Frax explained. "I will now kill him."
"Woah, harsh," Dustin commented.
"He deserves it," Hunter said, approaching with Tobi.
"Can't you just lock him up?" Tori asked.
"He is Doctor Tommy Oliver," Frax replied. "No prison could hold him. I do not understand your hesitation."
"Maybe… he can turn good?" Dustin suggested.
"The amulet corrupted him," a female voice suddenly commented. The others looked over to see Skyla.
"Skyla!" Shane declared, approaching her.
"I think he was evil to begin with, but…" Skyla continued, trailing off before looking at Shane and smiling. "I told you I'd e the one to find you."
He grinned back at her. "It's good to see you again."
Meanwhile, Tobi was distracted by a series of flashes. He looked over to see lighting striking all around them. But it was more than just lightning. With every flash, a figure seemed to appear. "Guys, we're in trouble," he told the others as a bolt of lightning struck directly in front of him. As the flash faded, a figure could briefly be seen until…
Tobi was thrown to the ground as he felt something grab at his neck. Tori was shot backward with lightning as sounds of gasps came from all around.
Recovering quickly, Tobi searched for Tori, but Blake was already helping her up. "Someone took—" she began before they were knocked over by a figure in black.
"What was that?" Dustin asked, as he slid across the mud. Tobi went to help him up, but Hunter was already there. Then another figure appeared and knocked them both back down.
Tobi noticed that the figures that appeared with the lightning were ninjas in black training outfits, specifically the ninja students from the Thunder Ninja Academy.
"Are you okay?" Shane asked Skyla as he helped her up.
"Yeah," she agreed. "Just caught off guard."
"Finally," a voice announced as a barrage of lightning bolts flashed all around, electrocuting everyone but the thunder ninja students. "I should have bonded with the amulets before, then they never would have been stolen." The voice came from Sensei Omino. He was holding the Sun Amulet, causing Tobi to check his neck. As expected, the amulet was gone.
"Can I see it?" Leanne asked, approaching her father as a ninja brought him the Shade Amulet.
"Here, but be careful," Sensei Omino warned, handing the Sun Amulet to Leanne while taking the Shade Amulet and studying it. "I have seen this power being wielded, but how?" he asked himself.
"Those aren't yours!" Skyla yelled. Everyone, including her, looked surprised by the authority in her voice. "At least, I don't think so…" she added.
"Actually, they are," Sensei Omino disagreed. Eric and Wes ran toward him, but two bolts of lightning threw them backward. As the two flashes of light appeared, so did Hunter and Blake's parents. They then took their place next to Sensei Omino and Leanne.
"Hand me your morphers," Omino told them.
"But they don't work now that our sons—" Mrs. Bradley began.
"They will work," Sensei Omino assured them.
"Wait, our parents have morphers?" Blake asked, glancing at Hunter, who had an equally surprised reaction.
Sensei Omino strapped one of Hunter and Blake's parents' morphers onto his wrist and held the Shade Amulet over it. The amulet latched itself into the top of the morpher. As it did so, the morpher turned black and silver and black shadows seemed to seep out from the morpher into his skin. "Ah!" he cried, dropping the other morpher to the ground with a clatter.
"Sensei," Mr. Bradley called, approaching him.
Sensei Omino raised his hand to stop Hunter and Blake's father. When he looked up, his eyes were entirely black.
"Dad?" Leanne asked.
He blinked a few moments, breathing heavily until his eyes cleared and he stood up straight. "I can… feel… the… power," he gasped. He raised a single finger, pointing it at a nearby tree. Instantly, the tree exploded into black ask. Next, he pointed at a kelzack and the same thing occurred.
"Stop this!" Lothor demanded. "What do you want? Gah!" He was nocked backward as the Bradley parents sent another wave of electricity out into the crowd.
"I have what I want," Sensei Omino stated, "but yet… I feel some longing for more…" He looked down at his hand and noticed it turn to smoke before reforming. "This power was wasted on Doctor Oliver. With my training and control, I will be unstoppable." He then looked toward his daughter. "Give me the other amulet," he told her.
Leanne had picked up the other morpher that her father had dropped and was attaching it to her wrist. "But I thought one of them was supposed to be mine," she protested, clutching the Sun Amulet.
"Do not make me destroy you," Sensei Omino warned, pointing a finger toward one of the Golden Guardians and then one of his own ninjas, both of whom were instantly vaporized.
"Dad!" Leanne yelled. "What are you doing?"
"Sensei," Hunter addressed. "You can't do this. The amulet is… changing you."
"Yeah," Blake agreed. "You and Leanne became like our family when our parents died. This isn't you."
"What are you talking about?" the thunder rangers' mother asked, glancing at her husband.
Leanne held the Sun Amulet over the morpher now attached to her wrist. "No!" Sensei Omino yelled. "Leanne, you are not ready!"
"But you did it and you promised," she reminded him.
"Your training is not complete and you are not strong enough," he insisted."
"Oh please," Leanne mumbled, letting the amulet lock onto her morpher, where it immediately began to glow.
"This is a mistake," Skyla whispered, seeming to sense something.
"Leanne—" Sensei Omino began to warn just as his daughter's entire body started to glow.
"Aaaaaaaaah!" she screamed, suddenly exploding.
A burst of fine gold powder flew out in every direction, as the Sun Amulet fell to the ground.
"Leanne…" Blake whispered, watching the powder land on him.
Hunter's eyes were wide in shock as his parents turned to study what was left of their sensei's daughter.
Blake grabbed Tobi by the shoulders. "Tell me you can…" Tobi blinked at him for a moment as he lowered his arms. "Of course not… Nevermind." He turned back around, watching the dust settle in the mud.
"I warned her!" Sensei Omino growled, kneeling over the remains of his daughter.
Hunter and Blake's parents forced some approaching Golden Guardians back with lightning as they watched their sensei.
Sensei Omino looked up momentarily before becoming a cloud of black smoke. The cloud rose into the air and flashes of lightning flickered through it before countless lighting bolts flew down, striking everyone below, including his own students and Hunter and Blake's parents.
As the smoke began to reform, Wes helped Eric up with one arm while aiming his gun with his other hand. But, before the smoke fully formed, it launched toward the two, knocking them to the ground in a blaze of sparks. Both their morphers suddenly exploded and they demorphed, twitching from the electricity running through their bodies.
"Are you guys okay?" Tobi asked approaching them.
Wes managed to nod through gritted teeth.
"Mom, dad," Hunter called. "You can stop this."
"How?" his father asked.
"Sensei Omino trained you as he trained up," Blake explained. "If you can convince him—" He dove out of the way as a streak of smoke shot past him.
"No one will stop me!" the smoke declared as it formed back into Sensei Omino.
"Raijin Omino," a voice addressed as a guinea pig hopped forward. "I am Kanoi Watanabe. We used to be friends, long ago."
"So it is true, you are a rodent," Sensei Omino replied. "Allow me to remove your burden." He pointed at the small Sensei, but Lothor knocked him out of the way as another kelzack was vaporized instead.
"Kiya," the small Sensei noticed. "…thank you. It seems I was wrong about you too…"
"You've changed a lot more than your appearance, Kanoi," Lothor replied.
"Yeah, well, I hope it's for the best," Sensei commented back, "because being a guinea pig is a pain in the—"
Blast! Sensei Omino began pointing randomly at members of the crowd as they recovered from the electrical attacks. One by one they were being vaporized. He grinned as he spotted Skyla. "I could not forget you," he said, pointing.
Shane dove in front of Skyla before she could be killed, but a chunk of her arm was still vaporized right off of her. "Tobi!" he yelled.
Tobi ran over to the two and immediately saw Skyla's arm. He grabbed what was left and concentrated on healing her. To his surprise, the rest of the arm began to regrow. As he fell to the ground in exhaustion, he instinctively reached for his amulet, but it wasn't there.
"Tobi," Wes called.
As Tobi began to crawl, he noticed that Goldwinger was missing part of one of the wings attached to his head. "Don't mind me!" Goldwinger insisted. "Help the others!"
Tobi did his best to crawl over to Wes and Eric, where he noticed that Eric was unconscious. Although he only needed minor healing, the back to back healing without enough time to recover or the amulet left him lying on the ground fighting to stay conscious.
While Hunter helped his brother up, Sensei Omino pointed a finger at him. Instantly, eh was thrown backward and demorphed. His body began convulsing.
"Hunter!" Dustin yelled, running to him.
Hunter and Blake's parents approached their fallen son. "Is he alright?" their mother asked.
"I'm… fine," Hunter gasped, reaching a very shaky arm out for Dustin to help him up.
Sensei Omino vaporized two of his own students before turning back to Hunter again, but the two parents stood their ground in front of their son. Blake and Tori streaked between the parents and Sensei Omino.
"Sensei, you have to stop what you're doing," Blake insisted.
"Why?" Sensei Omino replied. "I do not need you or your parents anymore." He raised a finger and aimed it at them.
Tobi saw this through dazed eyes at the same time Hunter stumbled backward and Dustin caught him, his back to Sensei Omino. "No!" Tobi choked out, too weak to do anything more than wiggle his fingers at Sensei Omino. Instantly, Sensei Omino's energy reflected back at himself.
Sensei Omino gasped, looking down. There was a large hole straight through his hest.
"Guys!" Dustin called as the others watched Sensei Omino fall to his knees.
Tori and Blake returned to Hunter and immediately noticed that he was coughing up blood.
"TZT, help him," Dustin pleaded.
Tobi could do little more than watch as Hunter stopped coughing and his head fell to one side. Shane ran up to Tobi, Skyla with him. "Find the Sun Amulet," Tobi told Shane.
He nodded. "I'll help you," Skyla offered.
"Dude, he's not breathing!" Dustin told the others.
Blake helped Dustin lower the crimson ranger to the ground while Tori looked around for Tobi before noticing him lying in the mud. She ran over to him and tried to help him up.
"Just pull me," he told her and she began dragging him, sliding him through the mud.
Blake looked between Hunter and Tobi. "Where's his amulet?" he asked.
"Does he need it?" Tori asked.
"He almost died saving Marah and her dog," Blake explained, "and that was with the amulet."
Tori gave Tobi a quick, horrified look.
"I just… need a moment," Tobi breathed. "Start mouth to mouth."
Tori immediately turned to Hunter's body, wiping the blood off his face and tilting his head back.
"Cam, we need medical help out here now!" Blake yelled into his morpher.
At that moment, Sensei Omino collapsed into a pool of liquid blackness. "We all surrender," Hunter and Blake's parents declared, holding up their arms and looking around at the Thunder Academy ninja students. "And, Blake, we're sorry…"
Blake glanced at the living versions of his parents before looking back to his brother.
"TZT, can you help him?" Dustin asked, kneeling next to Tobi.
Tobi looked up into Dustin's eyes. "Yes…" he replied slowly.
"All right, you are all under arrest," Frax told the thunder ninjas.
"Assist him," Lothor ordered his surviving allies as Sensei hopped onto his shoulder.
"The mask is a nice touch actually," Sensei commented as Lothor gave him an odd look.
"Where's Doctor Oliver?" Eric asked, looking around.
"We can't find the Sun Amulet," Shane explained as he approached Tobi with Skyla.
"I think Tommy took it," Skyla told them, kneeling over Tobi. "What can I do to help?"
"I don't know," Tobi replied.
"Then I should go after him," she realized, standing.
"I'll go with you," Shane immediately volunteered.
"No, I can do this," she assured him. "It's my responsibility. It's my… destiny," she added, vanishing.
Just then, Cam streaked to Hunter's side with his bright orange medical kit. He began examining Hunter's body. "He has no pulse," he stated. "Stand back." He brought out two electrical paddles and shocked Hunter. "I'll do chest compression if someone else continues mouth to mouth."
"I'll do it," Dustin volunteered.
"Dustin, do you know how to perform CPR?" Cam asked.
"Uh, no," he admitted, "but I can't do nothing while—"
"Then get out of the way," Cam insisted. "Tori, take over."
She was a bit caught off guard by Cam's forcefulness, but she obeyed and resumed mouth to mouth.
"Tobi," Cam addressed, while doing chest compressions, "if you can heal him—"
"Ah!" Tori screamed, raising her head. Her eyes were filled with terror.
"What's wrong?" Cam asked just as his hands fell into Hunter's chest. Hunter's body was slowly dissolving.
"I thought the suit protected him," Blake gasped.
"TZT, save him!" Dustin begged, reaching down and dragging Tobi by the arm the rest of the way to Hunter.
"Dustin, without the amulet, it could kill Tobi," Tori said, her eyes wide and shiny.
Dustin looked from Tobi to Hunter and then back again. "But I believe in Tobi…" he mumbled. "He has to…"
Tori looked at Dustin and then down at Hunter.
Dustin didn't say anything more, but, for Tobi, he didn't need to.
Tobi moved his hand weakly toward Hunter until he felt a hand stop him. "Tobi…" Tori whispered.
"I have to," he told her.
"You're my brother and…" she continued.
He forced a smile at that comment. "I can do this," he promised her.
She nodded and let his hand go before turning away. He knew he probably wouldn't survive and he wondered if she knew that too or if she believed in him as much as Dustin did. Dustin… More than Hunter, this was really for him. But then, this was for all of them.
Reaching out, Tobi felt Hunter's hand begin to flake and crumble as he touched it. He closed his eyes and concentrated. For a moment, the decay seemed to be too fast for him to keep up with. He just wasn't strong enough.
But then he saw it, the familiar glow of life burning and healing. Hunter's chest rose as he gasped for air.
"Hunter!" Blake, Tori, Dustin and Shane all declared as Tobi saw Hunter's eyes open and Dustin take the crimson ranger's hand. Then, Tobi closed his eyes and felt himself become weightless as everything went white…
To be continued...
Author's Note: So, that was my violent, action-centric chapter, complete with death… I hope I didn't kill off any characters you grew too fond of. Really, it's not like it was some death fest. All in all, pretty much everyone made it through alive because that's what I felt most of my readers wanted. I certainly didn't kill off any of the main characters. Of course, not knowing who was going to die as you read the chapter probably nearly gave you a heart attack! Oh, you're wondering about Tobi aren't you? Well, I guess we'll see in the next chapter…