Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:
Dustin confesses his love of Tobi to his dad, who eventually comes around and supports him. Meanwhile, Skyla senses Lothor's plan and Shane orders everyone to the location of a falling 747 plane. But, when the group can't morph, they discover that Ninja Ops was trashed, Circuit destroyed and Sensei killed. After Tobi saves Sensei, he joins the others as they stop the plane from crashing and try to get the passengers off the plane. Skyla tries to warn them that it's a trap, but it's too late. The passengers turn out to be kelzaks disguised by holograms and the plane turns out to be Lothor's Megazord. The kelzak furies overpower the rangers until Dustin helps Tobi focus his powers after becoming out of practice. But that's when Vexacus and Choobo appear and capture all but Tobi and Skyla. Without Dustin, Tobi is weakened and Lothor threatens to make the gold ranger watch as he kills his friends one by one, but Skyla finally activates her morpher and becomes the pink ranger. She's then able to borrow Tobi's powers before teleporting herself and Tobi back to Ninja Ops. Tobi demands to go back, especially after Waldo reveals that Lothor's Megazord is powered by the Gem of Souls and Skyla senses he's using it to open the Abyss of Evil, but Lia says it's too late. Lothor's already won…
Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 45 (Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures)
Lothor sat in the cockpit of the towering dreadnaught megazord he had spent a month, with the Scroll of Destiny's blueprints, building. Below, humans who had been setting up for the annual US Action Games fled in fear from the approaching megazord. His plan to disguise the megazord as a plane to capture the rangers had been brilliant and well worth the effort, but the gold ranger had still escaped, now with a new pink ranger. He slammed a button on the control panel in front of him more forcefully than necessary in his anger and energy flowed from the fragments of the Gem of Souls that he had stolen and placed in the Megazord's heart.
Blast! A beam of pure energy shot out from the megazord down to the ground below.
As he watched the energy break through the earth, he could feel the Abyss of Evil awakening. He clutched the Scroll of Destiny tightly in his opposite hand. He had stolen the scroll from the Wind Ninja Academy just before his meddling nephew traveled back in time and resulted in his banishment. He spent the next two decades stealing parts for a space ship and gathering an army, all in preparation for this day.
Soon every last alien the Power Rangers had defeated on Earth would be free. Zurgane, his most loyal general, would be alive.
He gripped the controls as he thought of how the gold ranger had destroyed Zurgane, how that bratty blond had somehow turned the other dimension's rangers against him, even his own nieces. Yet the gold ranger had escaped. He slammed his fist down again. No, not for long, he reminded himself. Without the gold ranger's connection to the yellow ranger that he had somehow managed to bring back to life, he would weaken and die. Lothor allowed a small smile at this thought. He had finally won.
"Lothor's already won," Lia told her brother seriously.
Tobi slumped further against the table in the now destroyed Ninja Ops. He had wanted to help the others before Skyla morphed and teleported him away from the battle, but he was helpless without Dustin. And, as he failed in an attempt to even lift his arm, he knew his sister was right. Lothor had won.
"Lothor has not won yet," a voice interrupted and Tobi feebly looked over to see Sensei entering the room, since his death and Tobi saving him now in human form.
In Tobi's delusional state, he couldn't help but remember that day five years ago when an identical looking human chose his sister and her friends to be ninjas, but not him. How far he'd come from that day, and yet he was once again back to being weak and helpless.
"You're... human," Lia realized outlout.
"You look much better," Waldo noted.
"A light meditation can aide healing," Sensei explained, "although most of the credit goes to Tobi." He nodded toward the blond. "Thank you."
"No problem," Tobi mumbled weakly.
"How can we help him?" Lia asked, gesturing to her brother.
Sensei kneeled next to Tobi. "It seems your connection to Dustin has remained strong despite the... precautions you two have taken. Perhaps it is related to how you brought him back to life." He looked up at Skyla. "Do you think he will be alright for a while longer?"
"Um, I think so," Skyla replied.
"Alright," Sensei said, standing. "We must stop Lothor's Megazord. There is no time to lose."
"But we can't use our zords without Shane," Waldo interrupted. "I have the power of earth and Lia has the power of water, but we need an air ninja to form the megazord and have any chance at all against Lothor."
A small smile formed on Sensei's lips. "Then it is fortunate that I happen to be an air ninja," he said. "It was the element I trained under."
Lia looked at Waldo. "Would it work?"
Waldo nodded. "In theory," he agreed, "but we wouldn't be able to form lightning mode or call on weapons because..." He gestured around at the completely trashed Ninja Ops and remains of computers.
"It will have to do," Sensei said simply, leading the way out of the wrecked dojo.
Lia looked from Sensei down to her brother.
"Go," Tobi whispered. "I'll be fine. Just get the others back."
"Skyla," Waldo addressed, "keep an eye on Tobi and contact us if anything changes. We should all have a backup communication net build into our morphers." Waldo signed. "At least Cam saw this coming because Ops crashed on him before."
She nodded in reply.
"Rangers," Sensei called. "Time is of the essence."
Waldo and Lia followed him out and down the corridor toward the Zord bay.
The moment they left, Tobi peered at Skyla. "Can you predict what will happen? Do you know how we can stop Lothor and get the others back?"
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Tobi, but I have a bad feeling about all of this."
"Feeling..." he whispered. As he lay there, he was surprised to realize that he even missed the bad feelings from Dustin. The shared pain or discomfort was still that: shared.
"Thanks to our shared ninja energy, the Megazord sequence is engaged and stabile," Waldo announced from within the Wind Megazord.
"I am afraid I am unfamiliar with the controls," Sensei replied from within his own cockpit.
"That makes two of us," Lia agreed. "Besides our little zord battle while my brother was back in our dimension, I don't have much practice."
"Leave that up to me," Waldo said. "Cam and I have been working on improvements together."
"Cam's always the reliable one," Lia sighed. "Who'd have thought I'd be the one to try to save him."
"Sensei, do you think the others are inside Lothor's megazord?" Waldo asked as their own megazord approached the fairgrounds.
"Lothor will have instructed Choobo to add them to the other ninja students," Sensei explained, "since that has proven an effective way to prevent them from being rescued."
"Then we go all out and destroy Lothor and his megazord," Lia growled.
"It will not be that easy," Sensei replied, just as their megazord arrived.
Outside, Lothor's megazord was blasting a beam of energy into the earth.
"Are we too late?" Lia asked.
"That is not an option," Sensei declared. "The evil that he is awakening could destroy this world."
"Not gonna happen," Waldo said while lunging the controls forward and sending their megazord smacking into Lothor's. The impact broke the beam's focus as the megazord skidded back a step but otherwise remained level.
Relying on all those robot battles from his childhood, Waldo began an all-out assault on Lothor's megazord, but the punches and kicks did little more than clank against the surface of Lothor's obviously much more powerful megazord.
Smack! Lothor's megazord spun, throwing a punch mid-spin that sent the rangers' megazord toppling over. It then fired a beam of energy down directly at the rangers' megazord, cutting straight through it.
From inside the cockpit, sparks flew. "Do something!" Lia screamed, pressing controls in front of her.
Outside, the rangers' megazord's foot shot up, tripping Lothor's megazord, and sending it tumbling to the ground.
Waldo was quick to right their megazord, but, as it stood, it had a hole through its center that was sparking. "I have limited controls, so I'm going to need you two to help," he called.
"Don't we have weapons?" Lia called back.
"Not without Ops," Waldo sighed as Lothor's megazord stood before throwing another punch at the rangers' megazord and once again sending it tumbling.
Lothor's megazord was quick to slid a leg over, pinning the rangers' megazord down. It then began once again firing on the megazord beneath it.
"Ah!" Lia screamed as a panel exploded in front of her.
"Rangers, we must retreat," Sensei announced from within his own sparking cockpit.
"We need weapons," Lia shouted as burns formed on her arms.
"Wait," Waldo realized while fumbling with his controls. "We do. Cam told me how Circuit became a gold moth because its original body it destroyed in order to defeat a zord back in our dimension."
"Are you saying we blow up ourselves?" Lia gasped.
"No, we'd have to bail out at the last moment," he continued, "but the explosion should take Lothor's megazord with it."
"Sensei?" Lia asked as their megazord was sliced open.
"The sacrifice may be necessary in order to stop Lothor," Sensei replied, "but I am reluctant to take my brother's life." He paused. "Before I met Tobi, I would have said our family ties were severed and he was no brother of mine, but—"
"After he tried—no, did kill you?" Waldo interrupted as his cockpit was jostled. "And after he captured and tried to kill your son?"
Sensei was silent for a moment.
"I say we do it," Lia agreed.
"I will concede on this matter," Sensei relented.
"Okay," Waldo called, voice tense, "everyone push your controls all the way forward on my mark... Now!"
The rangers' megazord flew forward, catching Lothor's megazord off guard and sending them both to the ground, the rangers' megazord on top.
"Get ready to eject, big blue button—Now!" Waldo called just as Lothor's megazord prepared to blast the weaker megazord of of it.
Boom! The three ninjas landed their ninja streak at a safe distance from the explosion and waited, catching their breath.
As the smoke cleared, only giant chunks of metal could be seen.
"We did it!" Waldo cheered, looking around for a high five, though only seeing Lia cradling her burned arms and Sensei clutching his shoulder. "Are you two okay?"
Lia nodded as Sensei lowered his arm and looked distant.
"Now we rescue the others," Lia said before noticing Sensei's expression. "Lothor deserved it, Sensei. You have to know that. He got what was coming to him." She gestured around. "Besides, I never liked zords." She shivered at the memory of her mother's death and her brother's narrow escape.
"I suppose you are correct," Sensei said, forcing a stoic expression. "He chose his path—his destiny."
"Wait, what's—" Waldo began, concentrating on his earth senses.
Just then, the ground began to shake.
Crack! Suddenly the ground split in two near the remains of the megazord, some of the metal falling into the forming chasm.
"All that and we were too late?" Lia yelled as the three were knocked to the ground.
"I fear so," Sensei replied. "The Abyss of Evil has awakened and is opening."
Before them, figures began emerging from the growing crack in the earth. They were unmistakably aliens, aliens that had once been destroyed. As the glow began bringing forth more and more creatures, it quickly became evident they were severely outnumbered.
"Rangers, we must retreat," Sensei warned. "There are three of us, we are injured, and none of us can morph."
"This time I agree with you," Waldo said, nodding to Lia before the three streaked away.
As they did, a lone figure approached the abyss and the army materializing around it. He dusted himself off, smiling.
It was Lothor.
The moment he saw the ninjas abandon their megazord, he suspected a trap and bailed out of his own megazord just in time. A month's worth of work destroyed, but he didn't need the megazord anymore anyway. The Abyss of Evil was open and it was time to take over the world, starting with Blue Bay Harbor.
He checked his hand but noticed the Scroll of Destiny was missing, presumably destroyed along with his megazord. But, again, it was unnecessary. He knew how this ended. Nothing could stop him and his newly reborn army.
His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed a familiar alien general among the hordes emerging from the abyss. "Zurgane!" he called, approaching the alien.
"Sir!" Zurgane saluted.
Lothor couldn't hold back a wide grin. "Ah, my most loyal general," he greeted pleasantly, patting the alien's puffy shoulder pads. "It's good to have you back."
"It's good to be back, sir," he replied.
"It was no small feat, I'll tell you that," Lothor said with a wave of his hand, "but there's still a lot left to be done."
"I'm ready, sir," Zurgane offered.
"I knew you would be," Lothor nodded, gesturing around. "We need to organize my army. We'll start with a takeover of Blue Bay Harbor city hall and then each of these aliens will move out to the surrounding cities. We'll leave one alien in charge of each city and I'll leave you in charge of Blue Bay Harbor while I run things from my ship."
"What about the Power Rangers?" Zurgane pointed out.
Lothor grit his teeth. "I captured most of them. It seems a few escaped."
"The... gold ranger?" Zurgane asked hesitantly.
"Don't worry," Lothor assured him. "He should be completely helpless by now. As for the others…" He paused, grinning. "They happen to have just sacrificed their megazord. I have just the thing to keep them from meddling." He then proceeded to pull a Personal Alien Manager from his outfit.
"The Scrolls of Empowerment?" Zurgane suggested.
"It wasn't easy to get this PAM," Lothor explained, "and it would have done little more than destroy a certain traitorous bounty hunter had I not destroyed the rangers' base. With my nephew's field down and all the scrolls restored by the opening of the Abyss of Evil, I'll be able to use them all at once." He chuckled to himself. "If the Power Rangers try to stop us, they're in for a big surprise."
"And what surprise is that?" a voice asked and Lothor turned to see Vexacus approaching.
Lothor's fingers hovered over the added button on his PAM that would make the device on the side of the bounty hunter's head explode, but then he put the PAM away and smiled. "Actually, I have just the task for you."
"What is it?" Vexacus asked, eying the space ninja with contempt.
"We need to lure the rangers who are left out into the open," Lothor explained. "You will find their... families and hold them hostage. When the rangers come to rescue them..." He laughed. "They'll meet a very explosive end."
Vexacus grumbled something under his breath.
"What was that?" Lothor snapped.
"I was just thinking outlout what a brilliant plan that is," Vexacus lied.
"I'm sure," Lothor said, approaching he bounty hunter. "Work with Choobo to find footage that you can use and..." He turned his back and continued, "you'll finish them." Under his breath, he added, "And you'll be finished."
"As you wish, sir," Vexacus agreed, before pressing a button and transporting back up to Lothor's ship.
"Sir," Zurgane addressed once the bounty hunter was gone, "he can not be trusted."
"Don't worry," Lothor assured his genral, "I don't trust him. But he will serve his purpose." He reminded himself that, had he destroyed Vexacus earlier, the traitor would simply be reborn when the Abyss opened. Now, with the Abyss open, the bounty hunter would die... permanently. He grinned as he pictured Vexacus exploding and taking the remaining Power Rangers with him. It was almost too easy.
"Take it easy, Tobi," Skyla warned.
"I need to..." Tobi mumbled, trying to move. "I need to get to Dustin." It was so hard just to stay conscious and he was using his abilities to heal himself. He could only imagine what shape Dustin was in. "Can—can you teleport to Lothor's ship?"
"I can only teleport a short distance away and I need to have been where I'm going," she explained.
"Right," Tobi realized, his eyelids heavy. "Wait," he began. "You borrowed my powers to fight Lothor. Can you borrow my healing ability?"
She furrowed her brow. "I'll try," she offered, touching Tobi. "What do I do?"
"Concentrate on igniting my life force," Tobi explained.
"Igniting?" she repeated. "What if you catch on fire."
He squinted open his eyes to look at her. "I trust you." He tried to grin, but failed.
"Alright," she said. "Do you think I need to morph?"
"After I morphed for the first time with Tori's morpher, it awakened my abilities, morphed or not," he recalled. "Try. Maybe it's the same for you."
She took a breath before concentrating.
Tobi could instantly feel the effect. Breathing became easier and he could feel his energy returning. "Okay, let's—" he began, lifting himself to stand, but he immediately fell back down on the table with a thud.
"What happened?" a voice asked and he looked up to see Waldo, Lia and Sensei entering the room. Sensei and his sister appeared to be injured.
"How is he?" Lia asked as she approached her brother.
"You're hurt," he said. Though it was easier to focus, he could feel himself quickly becoming weaker again.
"Nevermind me, little brother," she interrupted.
"I was trying to heal him," Skyla explained.
"You can heal people, like Tobi?" Waldo asked, surprised.
"I borrowed his abilities," she explained.
Sensei looked intrigued.
"Why didn't it work?" Waldo asked, kneeling and placing a hand on Tobi's damp forehead.
In his delirious state, Tobi almost thought Waldo was Dustin, but of course, he'd be able to feel Dustin inside him. Instead, he felt drained.
Sensei also knelt. "Tobi is using his powers to heal himself, but it is not enough to stop the energy loss."
"What can we do?" Lia asked, instinctively reaching out for her twin before her painful burns stopped her.
"It's like they're two halves of one body," Waldo commented, a worried expression on his face. "I was there when he formed Dustin's body. Tobs split himself in two to stabilize Dustin's body and it left their spirits bound. So, it's like being cut in half and..."
"Bleeding to death," Lia realized with a gasp.
"If energy were blood, yeah," Waldo agreed. "And he uses energy to heal himself, but his body is too weak to get anywhere."
"Then where's the burn ointment?" Lia grumbled.
"I can try healing you," Skyla offered.
Lia looked from Tobi to Skyla. "As long as it doesn't make my brother worse, sure."
Skyla reached out, touching Lia's arms and concentrated as Lia winced at the contact. Immediately, Lia's burns healed, the skin on her arms becoming clear.
"Thanks," she offered, surprised.
"You do not feel weak after healing?" Sensei asked.
"No," Skyla replied, shaking her head.
"Interesting," Sensei noted. "When Tobi uses his healing abilities, it requires energy from him or the Sun Amulet on his morpher. I wonder where the energy comes from."
"There is energy all around us," she said with a shrug.
Sensei smiled, recalling how he had said the same thing to Tobi. "Indeed there is."
"I can heal you next," she offered.
"It is only a minor injury to my shoulder," he started to protest, but she still touched him and concentrated. "Thank you, Skyla."
"We need to save Dustin," Tobi demanded, his voice already back to almost a whisper. "He can't heal himself."
"We need to save Cam, too," Lia added. "He'll know what to do. He's the smartest one of us." She turned to Waldo. "No offense."
"Well, I'll give you that one," Waldo agreed, "but we need to save them all."
"And we will," Sensei added. "With Lothor defeated, we may be able to find a way onto his ship, but we will need to morph."
"Cam and I were working on a way to fragment the morphing energy to allow Lia and I to morph while Dustin and Tori are morphed," Waldo explained, looking around. "If I can find the mock-up morpher and we reverse the process, you might be able to morph too, Sensei."
"I have morphed before and will be ready," Sensei replied.
"You've morphed?" Lia repeated, surprised.
"It was when Shane and I temporarily switched bodies," Sensei added as Lia and Waldo exchanged confused looks. "It was when Cameron tried to restore my human form. He felt... distant from me and he had hoped it would bring us together." He looked down in thought.
Lia patted his shoulder. "At least you told him you love him and did hug him at least once as a human."
"I should have done so a long time ago," he sighed before noticing Skyla's expression.
Lia followed his gaze. "Don't worry, Skyla. We all miss Cam and we'll get them all back."
She shook her head. "It's not that."
Sensei studied her. "What do you sense?"
"Lothor," she replied. "He's alive and planning something."
"No way," Waldo disagreed.
"We blew him up!" Lia added, turning to Sensei. "Right?"
"I suppose, it is possible he escaped," he suggested, thinking, "or he may have also been reborn with the opening of the Abyss of Evil."
"Skyla, can you sense Dustin?" Tobi asked, his voice barely audible by now.
She shook her head. "No, I can't."
"Why can you sense Lothor and not the others?" Waldo asked.
"I don't know," she admitted.
"Lothor has likely placed the others with the ninja students," Sensei theorized. "They would also be in stasis."
"Stasis, of course," Waldo realized. "Otherwise the ninja students would have died of starvation a long time ago."
"So Dustin's... okay?" Tobi choked out.
"For now," Sensei agreed. "But we should still make morphing our first priority. It will prove essential in both rescuing the others and facing Lothor... again."
Skyla concentrated, once again briefly healing Tobi, but as before, the energy drain remained.
"I'll see if I can find anything salvageable in this mess," Waldo grumbled. "I wish Cam were here."
"We all do, brainiac," Lia said, patting his shoulder before turning to Sensei. "Isn't there a way to break this connection my brother has with Dustin?"
"No!" Tobi interrupted.
Lia reached out with her now healed arms and held her brother by the shoulders. "Tobi, if you could only see what's happening to you." She shook her head. "Loving him is killing you. Just... break whatever link you have."
"It's not that easy," Tobi explained, Skyla's healing already wearing off, "and even if it were... I can't let him go. You don't know what it's like to be one with the person you love, to not know where your thoughts end and theirs begin, where your body ends and his begins..."
"No, I don't know," she admitted, "but I do know I love you... and I can't lose you. If you can break the link so that you can save Dustin, wouldn't it be worth it?"
He sighed. "I just need to stop being drained, not lose our connection."
She looked to Sensei.
"I am not certain how to do that," he replied slowly. "Although I agree that having Tobi at full strength may prove to be the key to defeating Lothor and rescuing the others." He turned to the weakend blond. "Tobi, perhaps if we practice meditating."
"No!" Lia yelled, putting an arm against Sensei.
"What is wrong?" he asked.
"The last few times he's meditated, he caught on fire," she explained.
"A fair point," he conceded. "However, I do not have an alternative."
"They do," Skyla interrupted.
"What?" Lia sked.
"Them," Skyla said, pointing to an empty corner of the debris-strewn room.
"What do you see, Skyla?" Sensei asked.
"Hunter and Blake's parents," she replied.
"Morphing awakened her abilities again," Tobi realized, "even though she's human now. She can see spirits."
"Morphing?" Sensei repeated.
"She used the pink morpher," Tobi replied. "I'll explain later. What are they saying, Skyla?"
Waldo approached with some parts in his hand he had been trying to reassemble. "Ask them if Hunter's okay," he urged.
"They're fine," Skyla replied, pausing to listen. "They're in… bubbles? Dustin is unconscious but okay."
"Stasis?" Waldo asked.
She nodded before making a surprised expression.
"What?" Tobi asked.
"They said..." She paused, looking at him. "They've been to Lothor's ship when their sons were taken there and... they think they can guide your spirit to Dustin's body."
"To save Dustin?" Lia asked. "What about my brother?"
"They say... Tobi can use Dustin's body to rescue the others." She continued listening. "Because their powers combine to form life, it would break the stasis hold."
"But what about Tobs?" Waldo asked.
"If it saves Dustin, I'll do it," Tobi volunteered. "If I end up in his body, that's fine."
"Yeah, I know you'd do it," Lia argued, "but like hell I'll let you." She turned back to Skyla. "Tell them to come up with another way."
"They can hear everything you say," Skyla reminded her.
Lia turned to address the empty corner. "Well, then come up with something better! I... I can't lose my brother... again."
Skyla nodded, listening. "Dustin's body will be weak, but with his and Tobi's spirits in it, he should be able to free the others. The release mechanism is nearby. They've seen it." She listened before continuing. "If I keep healing Tobi, his morpher and the extra healing should keep his body alive, but we will need the Gem of Souls ready when his spirit returns."
Waldo sighed. "It could work," he admitted. "The gem fragments should be buried under Lothor's zord. Now that the Abyss of Evil's open, he shouldn't go looking for them."
"I thought you were smart," Lia snapped.
"You think I want him to die?" he growled. "Do you have a better idea?"
Sensei put up a hand to calm the two. "We will need active morphers to risk going out to the Abyss and retrieving he Gem of Souls, so we will have until Waldo regains access to the morphing grid to come up with another course of action. If not, we may need to go with this plan."
Lia crossed her arms. "Fine," she huffed.
"I'll work fast," Waldo promised, walking off.
"Since it does not drain you, continue healing Tobi," Sensei told Skyla.
She nodded before again healing Tobi. "I can morph," she told Sensei.
"So I understand," Sensei replied. "That will prove invaluable to our efforts."
"I could get the gem fragments," she continued.
"It would be inadvisable to go alone," Sensei warned.
"She can do it," Tobi chimed in. "I know she can."
"No," Lia disagreed. "She needs to heal you."
"We will go together," Sensei said with authority.
Skyla nodded before pausing to listen to the spirits. "They said they're going to try something else too and will be back."
"Try what?" Lia asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know. They're gone."
Lia frowned. "Just hang in there, little brother," she told Tobi. "For Dustin at least, if not for your sister."
He nodded, already again weakening. He did love his sister, but he had to admit that he loved Dustin more.
Tori's sister Ali and Dustin's sister Maya were staring in shock at the news on the television in front of them and both their parents. Both families were still at the Hanson's house, gathered in the living room. On the screen was Lothor's face.
"Citizens of Blue Bay Harbor," Lothor addressed pleasantly, "your former mayor has graciously agreed to step down. As in, upside down." The camera panned out to reveal the city's mayor hanging upside-down from the top of city hall, screaming, before turning back to Lothor, who was smiling smugly. "I am in charge now," he continued. "You will do as I say or... face the consequences. And don't bother trying to flee. My army should be taking over the nearby towns of Reefside and Silver Hills right about now." He looked at his arm as if it had a watch on it. "Oh, and don't count on the Power Rangers coming to the rescue." He laughed before the screen went black.
As their parents exchanged worried looks, Ali pulled Maya into the other room. "Maya, can you keep a secret," she asked intensely.
The brunette slid her glasses further up on her face. "Of course," she agreed, her voice tense. "I actually wanted to tell you for a long time how I feel."
"What are you talking about?" Ali asked, confused. "This is important."
"Oh... uh, nevermind," she mumbled.
"So, promise?" Ali aked.
"Sure—yes," Maya agreed.
"My brother and sisters are Power Rangers," she whispered.
Maya raised an eyebrow.
"Do you believe me?" she asked.
"I suppose it's not any stranger than them being from a parallel reality," Maya replied, adding, "or that your brother and mine are telepathically linked."
Ali gave her a surprised look. "Okay, that I didn't know."
"So why are you telling me this now?" Maya asked.
Ali shook off her surprise. "Because I think they're in trouble and we need to find them."
"Dustin works at Storm Chargers, so they might have gone there," Maya offered. "It's the most logical place to start."
"Okay," Ali agreed, heading for the door. "Mom, dad," she called, "we're going out!"
"Ali, wait," her mother called and she turned to see both her parents approaching quickly. "We don't want you going out right now."
"Not with what Lothor said," her father added.
"I won't be alone," Ali argued. "Maya will be with me."
"I'm sorry, but we said no," her father said firmly.
"What's all this about?" Maya's mother asked, approaching. "You can't go out there."
Ali sighed. "Fine. Maya and I will be in the other room, studying. Don't disturb us." She then grabbed Maya's hand, leading her off.
"Where are we going?" Maya asked. "Our school books are upstairs."
"I know," Ali said, leading her to the back door in the kitchen and quickly opening it.
"But your parents said—" Maya began to protest.
Ali turned to face her friend. "Are you going to come with me? You don't have to."
Maya studied the blonde's hopeful blue eyes and caved easily. "Sure—alright," she agreed and let the girl she had a crush on lead her outside.
"What are we looking for?" Choobo asked as Vexacus searched through footage on a screen in front of the bridge of Lothor's ship.
"Anything that might lead to the family members of the Power Rangers," Vexacus replied without looking away from the screen.
"Well, that gold one's new," Choobo pointed out, "so, uh, maybe he's not as careful?"
Vexacus glanced over at Choobo briefly. "You're not as dumb as you look."
"Um, thanks I guess," Choobo replied.
Vexacus then began searching through a different set of footage.
"What are you looking for now?" Choobo asked.
"I'm going back to the first day the gold ranger appeared," he answered dismissively before noticing something. "Ah, I think I've found something."
Choobo approached the screen, but Vexacus shoved him aside. "Is the gold ranger talking to that girl?"
"Yes, and she seems to know him," Vexacus realized.
On the screen, Tobi, while morphed and trying to stop an enlarged alien with an even larger nose, called for his younger sister Ali to get back and she realized that her brother was a Power Ranger just as their parents emerged from their house.
Vexacus typed information into a separate panel. "The Hanson family," he read off. "...and they're blond, just like a certain gold ranger." He looked up. "I think it's time we paid their happy little family a visit." He reached up and felt the explosive device on the side of his head. "But first, I'll need an extra transport chip."
"Why?" Choobo asked. "Is yours broken?"
"No, just get me an extra before I destroy you," Vexacus threatened.
"Lothor wouldn't like that," Choobo replied.
"He'd probably think I'm doing him a favor," Vexacus suggested.
"Um, okay, they're over here," Choobo relented, leading the bounty hunter to a collection of small transport pins.
Vexacus grabbed one and stuck it to his head.
"Now we're ready," he said and the two transported down to the earth below.
"Okay, I'm ready to test the morphing matrix," Waldo announced, crawling back out from under the remains of Ninja Ops computer console, which was still completely destroyed.
"It's about time," Lia quipped impatiently, raising her arm. "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form! Power of Water!" she called, instantly morphing. She studied her blue suit. "I actually really missed this. Now let's get out there and—" Suddenly her body flickered and she demorphed, retuning her to her ninja training outfit. "What happened?"
Waldo groaned and shoved more debris aside. "I was afraid it wouldn't work. I tried bypassing the console interface entirely, but there's not enough power for the connection to the grid to hold."
"Continue trying, Waldo," Sensei said calmly.
"Thanks," Waldo mumbled, handing him a morpher. "I found the mock-up morpher. If I can ever get this working, you'll be our red ranger."
"I will be ready," Sensei said with a nod, attaching the morpher to his wrist and walking over to check on Skyla and Tobi.
"I hate being so out of control," Waldo grumbled while pulling on some nearby wires.
"I know the feeling," Lia agreed, pacing.
"Hunter's the same way," Waldo continued, still working. "I guess we're both control freaks. I wish I could somehow rely on that part of Dustin that just lets things happen. Sometimes I can, but..." He trailed off.
"We need your sense of control," she reminded him.
"But, if I hadn't tied the thunder morphers into Ops, Hunter and Blake would have been able to morph even with Ninja Ops out of commission," he argued.
"Cam was morphed and it didn't do him much good," she pointed out, moving to sit by the earth ninja while he worked. "I know you blame yourself."
He gave her a quick, surprised glance.
She shrugged. "Trust me, I've spent plenty of time blaming myself for things. I know how it goes." She looked over at her brother as Skyla once again tried healing him. "I'm sure Tobi blames himself for not being able to save the others."
"There's nothing he could have done," Waldo reminded her. "Look at him."
She turned back to the earth ninja. "I know. And there's no way you could have seen this coming. That's the thing about regret. It's kinda pointless since you can't go back in time. You've just gotta learn from it."
"Let me guess, you heard that from Tobi," he said with a small smile.
"Actually, Cam," she corrected. "He's my brother's real source of wisdom."
Waldo laughed briefly. "I bet our old Sensei regrets thinking Tobi couldn't be a ninja."
"Oh I doubt his wife ever lets him live it down," Lia agreed.
"Cam said something to me back when no one but he would trust me," he said, thinking. "He said that air, earth and water are all needed for life, like to grow a plant, but so is sunlight. Tobi was always meant to be a ninja at the Wind Ninja Academy."
"Too bad even I didn't see that sooner," she replied, again looking over at her brother.
"And too bad we can't power morphers solely on ninja powers or—" He paused, realizing something. "Wait—Sensei," he called.
"What is it, Waldo?" Sensei asked, approaching and kneeling beside Lia.
"Tobi's power of sunlight and Dustin's power of earth combined to create life, right?" Waldo asked.
"That is correct," Sensei replied.
"What are you up to?" Lia asked suspiciously.
"What if we combine all the Wind elements?" Waldo continued. "Air, earth and water," he listed off, pointing to each of them, "and Skyla could borrow Tobi's power of sunlight. If two can promote life, all combined should be enough to permanently heal Tobi's body."
Lia looked at Sensei.
"It is certainly a possibility," Sensei agreed, "but it would sever Tobi's connection to Dustin and we would need to do the same to Dustin once he is free to prevent his energy drain as well."
"With my brother at full strength, that'd be easy," she commented.
"But would he go for it?" Waldo asked.
Lia groaned. "He better not be that damn stubborn."
The three stood and were about to ask Tobi when they noticed the look in Skyla's eyes.
"What is it?" Sensei asked.
"Vexacus," she said slowly. "He's headed to your parents and he plans—"
"We've got to stop him," Lia interrupted.
"The buffers are still charging," Waldo said, "but if we wait to morph until we get there, the power may hold long enough for us to take out Vexacus or at least give our families a chance to escape."
"If we wait to morph until we're there, our parents will find out we're Power Rangers," Lia pointed out.
"If it saves them, I don't care," Waldo replied and Lia nodded.
"Tobi?" Sensei asked, leaning forward. The blond was covered in sweat, pale and looked unconscious.
Skyla shook off her distraction and quickly healed Tobi again. "Sorry," she mumbled.
Tobi slowly opened his eyes. "What's happening?"
"Each time I heal him, it does less for him," Skyla explained.
"Then stay here and continue healing him," Sensei advised.
"But be ready if we call for you," Waldo added.
"We'll be at my house," Lia explained. "It's where both of our parents are right now. She glanced at Waldo, who also had a worried expression.
"We must be prepared that this may be a trap to lure us out into the open," Sensei warned.
"But our families," Waldo began.
"We will go," Sensei assured him, "but simply exercise caution."
The others nodded.
"Keep healing him," Lia said before she, Sensei and Waldo streaked out of Ninja Ops.
Tobi tried to watch them go, but even with the constant healing, he continued to wear down.
"I'm exhausted," Ali complained. "All this walking is why I wanted a car if Tobi got my room."
"Shhh," Maya whispered, grabbing Ali and pushing the two into an ally.
The two looked around the corner as an alien walked down the middle of the street, followed by a horde of kelzaks.
After they passed, Maya looked back at Ali before realizing she was still holding the blonde. She quickly released her grip and blushed. "Um, sorry."
"Thanks," Ali said, looking around.
"There it is," Maya called, pointing to the Storm Chargers sign.
The two left the ally and entered the store, where they looked around to find the place empty until a red haired woman approached.
"Can I help you?" Kelly asked.
"Where is everyone?" Ali asked, looking around.
"Didn't you see Lothor's message?" she replied. "It was hard to miss, even on the all-sports channels. Most people are afraid to go out. Aliens and kelzaks are everywhere."
Maya looked at Ali before turning back to Kelly. "Have you seen my brother Dustin?"
"Oh, you're Dustin's little sister," Kelly realized. "I'm Kelly, Dustin's boss." She paused, adding mostly to herself, "Dustin's very understanding and patient boss."
"And I'm Tori's sister," Ali added.
"Sorry, girls, but I haven't seen either of them," she apologized. "I was going to tell Dustin and Shane that they had qualified for the US Action Games, though Dustin seems to have applied for both the motocross and freestyle competitions even though they both take place at the same time."
"Can he be in two places at once?" Ali asked Maya.
"Biphasic displacement?" Maya said. "It's possible in theory."
Ali turned back to Kelly. "Can you think of where they might be? It's super important we find them. Only they can stop Lothor."
"Why would they be the only ones able to stop Lothor?" Kelly asked suspiciously.
"You never noticed they vanish whenever the Power Rangers appear?" Ali asked.
"They're gone and no Power Rangers," Kelly pointed out.
"Which is the primary problem," Maya added.
"I've been to the track already," Kelly shrugged. "Maybe they're at home."
"We could try my house," Maya suggested. "My brother has been spending a lot of time with his boyfriend in his bedroom."
"Ooh, doing what?" Ali asked, intrigued.
Maya gave her a wary look.
"Sorry, it's just... yaoi, you know?" she replied.
Maya shook her head.
"Nevermind." She turned back to Kelly. "Thanks anyway." She groaned. "I guess we walked all this way out here just to walk all the way back."
"I'll give you girls a ride," Kelly offered, grabbing her jacket.
"Are you sure?" Maya asked.
"I'm not getting any customers here," she explained, "and I want to check on them as much as you do. Besides, it's not safe for you two to go alone on foot."
As she led them out and locked up the store, Maya turned to Ali. "Is yaoi like yuri?"
"Yaoi is with boys," Ali explained. "Yuri is with just girls. Boring. Now two guys..."
"Oh," Maya replied, looking down.
"What's wrong?" Ali asked.
"Nothing," Maya lied, "just wondering if our parents have noticed we're gone."
"Right," Ali said, giving her a suspicious look as the three got into Kelly's van.
"I checked upstairs," Mr. Hanson said, walking downstairs and meeting his wife.
"We checked the kitchen and study," Mrs. Brooks said, standing next to Mrs. Hanson.
Mr. Brooks reentered the house. "The cars are still in the driveway," he said. "They must have left on foot."
"But Lothor—" Mrs. Brooks began before her own worry cut her off.
Just then, a shadow passed in front of the glass window above the front door.
"Ah, there they are," Mrs. Hanson said with a sigh of relief.
Mr. Brooks turned to Mrs. Brooks. "I know we're not still married, but I'd recommend grounding."
Mrs. Brooks waved him off. "I'm just glad—"
Boom!
Suddenly the front door exploded, throwing the four backwards as pieces of wood and dust landed on them.
The two figures that stepped inside were not their daughters at all. It was Vexacus and Choobo.
"I would have knocked," Vexacus stated as he entered, stepping over the debris, "but this is so much more effective." He turned around and blasted yellow energy from his hands, causing one of the cars in their driveway to explode in a giant fireball.
"What do you want?" Mr. Hanson asked as he helped his wife up.
"Like any good fish, I need bait," Vexacus replied before raising his arm. "Vexacus to Lothor," he began. "I have the rangers' families, conveniently in one location. The rangers should be here shortly. Are you on your ship?"
"I'm at the Abyss," Lothor's voice replied. "Just tell me when the rangers arrive."
"Ah, but you should head up to your ship first," Vexacus countered.
"Why?" Lothor asked suspiciously.
"You're always saying you want to record your moments of victory," Vexacus reminded him.
"You're right," Lothor realized. "Just remember to call me the moment the remaining rangers are there. Lothor out."
Vexacus lowered his arm. "And now," he began, facing the four humans, "surely killing one of their family members will draw them out." He raised an arm toward his hostages.
Despite being divorced, Mr. Brooks instinctively stood in front of his ex-wife.
"Killing should always be a last resort," a voice stated as Sensei appeared, along with Lia and Waldo.
"Dustin," Mr. Brooks called, "run!"
"Now, rangers," Sensei said and the three ninjas activated their morphers and morphed.
"I never knew the red ranger was an old man," Vexacus laughed.
"Age is irrelevant when it comes to skill," Sensei retorted from within his red ranger uniform.
"We'll see about that," Vexacus growled, lunging forward just as Sensei slid forward and down, sliding right under Vexacus and tripping him.
"Mom, dad, run!" Lia called from within her blue ranger uniform.
"What's going on?" Mrs. Brooks gasped.
"Just go, now!" Waldo called from within his yellow ranger uniform just as Choobo began attacking him.
As Lia joined in fighting off Choobo, their parents snuck off, running out the back door.
"Shouldn't we tell Lothor that the rangers are here?" Choobo suggested as he kicked Lia through the living room window, where she landed in the front yard, covered in wood and glass.
"Not yet, Vexacus replied as he dodged a kick from Sensei and also landed just outside the doorway.
"But Lothor said—" Choobo began as the fight moved into the front yard.
"Lothor won't have the last laugh," Vexacus grumbled while blasting Sensei back with a beam of yellow energy.
"Are you okay?" Waldo asked, rushing over to help Sensei up.
"I am fine," he replied. "In fact, I have never felt better. Now let me see..." He then pulled a sword out and began slashing away at Vexacus with ease.
"That's what our old dimension's Cam would call 'mad skills'," Lia commented as she too removed her sword.
Just then, the three rangers' bodies flickered and they demorphed.
Sensei's sword vanished mid-slash. "It appears our power has faded again and it is time to retreat," he realized, looking at the others.
"Oh, by all means," Vexacus agreed, turning and blowing up another parked car, "but if you go, I will destroy every house on this block."
"If we stay, he'll kill us," Lia whispered, "but if we go—"
Waldo raised his morpher. "Skyla, now would be the perfect time," he said. "We need you."
"Ah, the more the merrier," Vexacus laughed. "But I doubt you'll be alive by the time your friend arrives. And surely you should invite the gold ranger too."
The others exchanged looks as Vexacus once again raised his communicator and called Lothor.
"Are you on your ship?" Vexacus asked calmly.
"I am," came Lothor's voice, "and I have the DVR cued up. Is it time?"
"Oh, it's time alright," Vexacus replied as he reached up and began removing his helmet, Lothor's bomb attached just below a teleport chip that would transport it back up to Lothor's ship.
"I'm also here with two old friends of yours," Lothor continued, "Shimazu and Motodrone. You may recall killing them before they were reborn in the Abyss of Evil."
"How... perfect," Vexacus said, his exposed scaly face forming a wide grin.
"Skyla, now would be the perfect time," Waldo's voice came from Skyla's morpher just as she was again healing Tobi. "We need you."
All her healing managed to do by this point was keep Tobi conscious.
"Go," Tobi whispered. "Help the others."
"But, you're getting weaker too fast," she reminded him.
"Just hurry," he urged.
She nodded. "I have a feeling something terrible is going to happen. I wish Shane were here." She sighed before standing. "I'll be back, with the others." She then streaked out of Ninja Ops.
Behind her, Tobi was already falling unconscious, his body again pale. He wanted so badly just to let go, but he held onto the hope that he could regain his strength and save Dustin and the others.
Dustin... It was at that thought that he felt lost. Images went through his mind of Dustin telling him he loved him, of their lips touching, their bodies becoming one, their minds... their spirits. He wondered if somehow his spirit would instinctively find its way to Dustin, even in space. Their bond had to be stronger than Lothor's stasis bubbles.. It must be stronger.
He relaxed and stopped fighting the energy drain and instead focused on trying to search beyond himself, to try to find some sign that could guide his spirit to Dustin.
As his body became weaker, he let himself experience the freedom of spiritual awareness and, before he knew it, his consciousness began to form into a spirit hovering outside his body.
"Tobi?" a voice called.
He wanted so much for it to be Dustin, but he knew it wasn't. Instead, he saw the spirits of Hunter and Blake's parents materializing and looking around.
"Where is Skyla?" Mrs. Bradley asked.
"She left to help the others," Tobi explained. He looked from his transparent hands down to his body still lying on the table. At least, in his weakened state, his energy hadn't set himself on fire. "Lead me to Dustin and I can save the others," he said, turning back to the Bradleys.
The two older spirits exchanged looks before Mr. Bradley spoke. "It could be dangerous without the added healing and the Gem of Souls."
"And we were going to tell Skyla that we found Sensei Omino's daughter," Mrs. Bradley added.
"Leanne?" Tobi asked before realizing that this dimension's Leanne was alive.
"She may be able to help," Mrs. Bradley continued, "since she trained with our sons and can use a morpher. Both you and Skyla have been to the Thunder Ninja Academy in your dimension, so you would know the way in this dimension."
Tobi looked back at his pale body. "We can't wait for Skyla to return and then to travel all the way to the Thunder Academy just for someone who might help, not when we can save Dustin, your sons and everyone and they can all help."
The Bradleys deliberated between themselves before turning back to Tobi. "Alright," they agreed.
"What do I do?" Tobi asked, approaching.
"Take our hands and empty your mind of everything," Mrs. Bradley explained.
"We've been to Lothor's ship and will take you there," Mr. Bradley continued as he and his wife took both Tobi's hands.
Tobi closed his eyes and tired to clear his thoughts, but he kept thinking of Dustin.
"Alright, we're here," Mr. Bradley said and Tobi opened his eyes and looked around. The three spirits were standing on Lothor's ship. The last time he had been there, he was being mind controlled before he nearly killed all his friends. He shook off the memory.
"That was fast," he whispered. "Now where to?"
"You don't need to whisper, Tobi," Mrs. Bradley reminded him.
"Oh, right," he realized.
He could hear Lothor talking and floated over until he was standing in the doorway to the ship's main bridge.
"And now, to destroy the Power Rangers and that traitorous fish," Lothor said, removing a Personal Alien Manager from his pocket.
"Sir," Motodrone interrupted, "does it seem suspicious that Vexacus is so insistant about you being here on your ship?"
"I would say you're paranoid," Lothor replied, "but I'm taking no chanced. I permalocked a 50 megaton detonator to his head." He waved a finger over his PAM. "One touch and he and the Power Rangers are history.
Tobi spun around, gasping. "We have to get to the others, now!" he shouted.
"This way," Mr. Bradley called, directing the spirits to a separate large chamber near the main bridge.
Tobi looked up. The entire ceiling was covered in dozens upon dozens of bubbles, some filled with the ninja students and some...
"Dustin!" he shouted, immediately recognizing the earth ninja in one of the bubbles.
"Tobi, listen," Mrs. Bradley called.
Even before he knew he was doing it, his spirit began hovering up to Dustin. He just felt such a need to be near him. He looked back as Mr. Bradley hovered near a console.
"This is the release lever," Mr. Bradley explained. "Once you're in Dustin's body, you may only have moments before the energy drain is too much, so you must immediately pull this lever. Do you understand?"
Tobi nodded. "Yes." The then looked back to Dustin. "I love you," he whispered before flying toward the bubble.
"Good luck," Mrs. Bradley called. "You won't see us once you're in Dustin's body, but we'll be here."
Tobi reached a hand through the bubble. As a spirit, it seemed to have no substance at all and he easily passed through it. He reached out and let his spirit drift into Dustin's body. There was a moment of weightlessness and then—
"TZT." Dustin's eyes flew open as the two felt their consciousnesses reconnect. "Dusty," he whispered as energy coursed through them, the power of sunlight merging with the power of earth.
Then the bubble popped and Dustin's body fell to the ground with a loud crash.
"Oww," Dustin and Tobi's thoughts winced in unison.
I missed you, Tobi's thoughts said.
I know, was Dustin's instantaneous response.
Dustin let Tobi control his hands as they ran over his body. "When this is all over..." Tobi whispered through Dustin's lips before visualizing a very graphic image that made him blush. The oneness was so overwhelming and Tobi could sense Dustin seeing Tobi's memories of lying weak and helpless on the table in Ninja Ops. He felt Dustin's worry over the fate of Tobi's body back on Earth and then the realization that Hunter and Blake's parents were there watching them right now.
"Let's do this," Dustin called before trying to stand. "Ah!" he screamed. "I think I broke my leg in the fall."
"I'll try to heal it," Tobi thought before concentrating. His powers felt different while inside Dustin, but he still managed to heal his leg, though he noticed a sparkle of a golden string flicker as the floor vibrated and flowers appeared, looking out of place on the metal floor.
Dustin stood too quickly and a wave of dizziness overcame them as Tobi's spirit struggled to keep up. It had been a long time since they shared a body and it had been Tobi's body, but there wasn't time to get used to this. They had a mission.
Walking over to the panel, they prepared to pull the lever just as—
There was an explosion.
Skyla streaked to a stop near Sensei, Waldo and Lia and approached, standing between them and Vexacus and Choobo.
"Ah, now it's a party," Vexacus said pleasantly.
Just then, a light blinked on his helmet. "And, like any good party, it needs fireworks." He then pressed the transport chip and tossed the helmet. It vanished as it teleported away, the now blinking bomb still attached.
He looked up to the sky and the others followed his gaze.
Flash! Suddenly the sky lit up with a huge explosion.
"Was that..." Waldo gasped.
"Lothor's ship?" Lia finished for him. "But... the others... Cam..."
Sensei's eyes grew wide in horror.
"And, now, with Lothor and the other Power Rangers dead," Vexacus announced, looking back at the four in front of him, "it's your turn."
To Be Continued...
Author's Note: Many years ago, I began this story. It was a different time and, in many ways, I was a different person. I grew and changed as the main character did as well. Then, after years and I was ever so near to the end, I stopped. I let my readers down. And, for that, I am truly sorry. I could use any number of excuses, but they don't matter. What matters is that I have finally decided to continue this story. I have re-read this story so many times and it still holds such a strong emotional impact in my heart and I have a deep connection with it, so I must follow through. I also noticed a number of errors, including continuity errors that I tried to resolve in this chapter, as well as bringing up past events to refresh reader's memories and trying to match the writing style I had back then so that this and future chapters flow with the previous for new and ongoing readers. Time permitting, I will also go back and fix some typographical errors in previous chapters. Though, given that it took weeks to write this and 6 hours just to type up this one chapter, I am beginning to see why I stopped. Still, I will endeavor to complete the story eventually. I have begun writing the next chapter, but I am open to new ideas. If you are able, please review and provide feedback. Thank you!