Break-up
"I'm bored," Vida grumbled, sprawling backward on the couch.
Madison glanced up at her sister, keeping a finger on her place in her book. The nine-year-old twins were supposed to be doing homework, but Vida had gotten bored reading the textbook and stopped working on it.
"Well, if you get your homework done, maybe mom will let us go play with Chip and Xander," Madison said. "How much do you have left to read?"
"Like half the chapter," Vida sighed, rolling over to face her. "Why can't they make homework fun?"
Madison rolled her eyes, closing her own book.
"I'm finished," she said. "So I'm waiting on you."
"So you'll tell me what the rest of the chapter was about then?" Vida grinned.
Sighing, Madison relented.
"Fine," she agreed. "But only because I don't want to sit around her anymore either. But you tell mom nothing."
"Well of course," Vida said quickly, bouncing off the couch. "Let's go tell her we're done and see if we can go down the street."
Putting her book away, Madison jumped up and followed her sister toward the kitchen. Mrs. Rocca was sitting at the dining room table talking with Mrs. Oliver. Hearing the two women say something about Tommy, the girls both quietly poked their heads around the corner to listen.
"He has been really depressed lately, hasn't he?" Mrs. Oliver sighed. "I've tried talking to him, but he won't say anything. The only reason I found out was because he left the letter mixed into some of his homework that I was going over… He wasn't happy that I found it."
Mrs. Rocca shook her head.
"I still can't believe Kimberly," she said. "To break up with him in a letter. I never thought she'd do something like that…"
Mrs. Oliver nodded in agreement. Madison and Vida exchanged surprised looks.
"Kim broke up with Tommy?" Madison said quietly.
Vida shrugged.
"Shhh…" she said. "If we're quiet they'll keep talking."
"Well, he'll get through it," Mrs. Rocca said. "And he's always welcome over here if he wants a change. Jason doesn't need to be here for him to visit."
"Oh, he knows that," Mrs. Oliver smiled. "And I'm sure he'll come around eventually. He's been spending a lot of time with some of his other friends lately. They've been good for him since Jason left."
"I only met Rocky, Adam, and Aisha a couple of times," said Mrs. Rocca. "But they seem like nice kids."
"They are," Mrs. Oliver said. "But Aisha actually moved away about a month ago… There's a new girl running around with them now. Her name is Tanya. And then there's Kat."
"Kat is the blonde girl who moved here just before Kim left, right?" Mrs. Rocca asked.
Mrs. Oliver nodded.
"Yes," she said. "And she's been so sweet doing everything she possibly can to cheer Tommy up since he got the letter. I think she likes him."
Mrs. Rocca laughed.
"That's high school for you," she said. "Just wait. Soon they'll be spending all their time together."
The front door opened and the girls scurried away from the kitchen door as Mr. Rocca came walking inside. Seeing them trying to hide, he paused.
"What are you two up to?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Umm… We were just going to ask mom if we could go to Chip's house," Vida said quickly, trying to look as innocent as possible.
Mr. Rocca shook his head.
"Is your homework done?" he asked.
"Yes," the girls chorused.
He looked at them skeptically, but didn't argue.
"Go on, then," he said. "Just be back for dinner in an hour."
"Thanks dad!" the girls exclaimed.
Giving him hugs, they grabbed shoes and darted out the door, forgetting about what they'd been listening to in favor of playing with their friends.
"There I stood," Jenji said, gesturing as he told his story. "Face-to-face with the dreaded Pirate Half Nose."
The rangers sighed as the lounged around the table, trying to act interested in Jenji's long-winded retelling of one of his exploits.
"Despite having my paws tied and being made to walk the plank—" he said.
"You free yourself and beat him with your sword!" Chip interrupted, grinning.
Jenji shook his head.
"I had no sword," he said. "I was armed with only my cunning, my bravery, and a little trick I picked up in cat-mandu. I like to call it my super cat attack!"
"Super cat attack?" Nick said, raising an eyebrow.
But before Jenji could continue, they were interrupted by Clare rushing into the room with the tiny Fire Heart.
"He roared!" Clare said excitedly. "Fire Heart just roared for the first time!"
All of the rangers jumped up in excitement, crowding around Clare and the baby dragon.
"But I wasn't finished," Jenji mumbled.
No one heard him.
"What did it sound like?" Xander asked. "Was it loud and bellowy or rough and growly?"
"Well, it kind of sounded like grrr…" Clare answered, imitating a squeaky growl. "And then he let out a little puff of smoke."
"Awww… Cute!" Vida smiled as the others all agreed.
"Oh, look," Jenji muttered, waving his hands in the air. "The dragon did this. Oh, look. The dragon did that. Dragons…you can't live with them. You can't dump them in a moat. I think I may cough up a furball."
Madison, hearing a little of what he said, glanced back at Jenji and frowned. But he had slipped away. Shrugging, she went back to cooing over Fire Heart with the others.
"Uh-oh, guys," Nick said a few minutes later, glancing at his watch. "We'd better get to the store before it opens."
"Bye, Fire Heart," they all said as they headed for the door.
It didn't take long to get into town. Toby wasn't at the Rockporium when they got there, but that mean he was probably out picking something up. So the rangers got right to work preparing the shop to open.
"Oh!" Madison said, stopping in the middle of sweeping. "I was supposed to call Tommy this morning."
"Better do that," Nick said. "Any signs of anything weird?"
The girls shook their heads.
"Not that we've noticed," Vida said. "But it's hard over the phone…"
"I'm going to call him," Madison said. "You guys okay finishing up to open?"
When the other four nodded, Madison scooted over to a stool by the counter to make the phone call. The phone rang quite a few times and, for a moment, she thought it was going to go to voicemail. Then Tommy finally picked up.
"Hello?" he said.
"Hey, Tommy," Madison smiled. "It's Maddy."
"Hey, Maddy," said Tommy. "Sorry about that—almost didn't hear my phone going off."
She nodded, frowning. It was a little hard to hear him.
"That's alright," she said. "Umm… Tommy, why is it so loud?"
"Sorry," he said again. "The top on my jeep is down and I'm on my way to Angel Grove. So it's a little windy."
"Oh, okay," said Madison. "That makes sense."
"So what's going on?" Tommy asked. "You guys doing alright?"
"Yeah, we're fine," Madison smiled, glancing around the store. "Things have actually been quiet since you and Jason left. How's Trini doing?"
Tommy chuckled.
"She's doing fine," he said. "And so is Rose. I'll make sure Jason sends some pictures soon. And Maddy?"
"Yeah?" she said.
"I wouldn't count on that quiet lasting too long," he said. "From past experience, that's when things are most likely to flare up again."
"I know…" she sighed. "But it's nice all the same. Even one day without a monster trying to destroy us and the city is great to have once in a while."
"Well, enjoy it while it lasts," Tommy said.
Madison took a deep breath.
"So, how are you feeling?" she asked.
"Other than my still-mending ribs?" he asked. "Just fine. Still have a little while before the ribs will be better. But nothing spell-wise if that's what you're asking. That wore off days ago."
She sighed in relief.
"That's good to hear," she said. "Last time I called you were half asleep again—though I understand completely. I did wake you up after all."
"Yeah…" Tommy sighed. "Like I said—I got no sleep at the hospital. Jason was too stressed…"
"So just like normal," Madison laughed. "He worries too much sometimes."
"He usually has his reasons," Tommy said. "But you're right. He does."
There was banging on the door of the shop and Madison spun in surprise. Toby was there with a look of panic on his face.
"Tommy, I've gotta go," she said quickly.
"Alright," he said. "Take care of yourselves."
"Always," she responded, hanging up as Xander let Toby inside.
All five of them gathered around him.
"Quick! Hide me!" Toby exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Remember that big, black, bat thingy that carried me off before? Well, she's back. But this time she's got a big, blue bird thing! And I mean big! I don't know about you guys, but I'm hiding!"
With that, he darted into his office. Exchanging looks, the rangers headed for the door.
"So much for quiet," Madison sighed.
They found Necrolai and the new monster, Screamer, easily enough. There were piles of feathers everywhere. Exchanging grim looks, as they were pretty sure those feathers had been people, the rangers headed straight into the fight.
"Come on," Vida exclaimed.
"What lovely feathers!" Screamer crowed in delight.
The rangers stopped, facing Necrolai and Screamer.
"Well, hello, rangers," Necrolai smirked.
"We gotta do something," Vida said.
"That bird's got a foul mouth," Chip agreed. "Sorry, couldn't resist…"
Before they could do anything, however, Necrolai hit them with a spell. The rangers fell backward in shock, hitting the ground.
"Now even she's got magic," Chip said in surprise.
"Yes, I do," Necrolai cackled.
The rangers got back to their feet.
"Let's ranger up," Nick said.
Nodding in agreement, they all pulled out their wands.
"Magical source, Mystic Force!" they called together.
Morphed, they readied themselves to attack.
"We'll take Necrolai," Nick said, glancing at Xander and Chip. "Vida, Madison—perch that bird!"
"Right," Vida and Madison chorused.
They moved to take on Screamer as Xander and Chip followed Nick. He got to Necrolai first. For a few moments he was fine and then Necrolai landed a hit that sent Nick flying backward.
"Got your back!" Xander exclaimed as he and Chip jumped into the fight.
The two charged Necrolai, fighting around a parked car. Using her newly acquired magic, she caused both front doors to fly open and knock Chip and Xander off their feet.
"Give me that!" Nick shouted, going for the wand.
"Ugh!" Necrolai grunted as he hit her.
But she pushed him back onto the hood of the car.
"Fly away, ranger!" she laughed.
A short ways away, Vida and Madison were struggling with Screamer.
"Hey!" Vida exclaimed, falling back.
But the boys weren't doing great either.
"Gotcha!" Necrolai cackled.
She hit them all with a spell, lifting them high up into the air.
"Stop!" Nick said, struggling to get away.
But the three of them were trapped.
"Stop!" Madison shouted at Screamer from where she was lying on the ground.
Vida leapt at the bird monster, forcing the creature's beak shut.
"Let go of me!" Screamer shouted, twisting as she tried to throw off Vida.
"Hold on, sis!" Madison cried, getting back to her feet. "Magi staff!"
Knocking Screamer back, the two girls turned their attention to freeing Xander, Chip, and Nick. They attacked together and Necrolai fell back, releasing the others.
"Rest assured," Necrolai called. "We'll be back!"
With that, Necrolai and Screamer were gone. Vida and Madison ran to the boys.
"You ok?" Vida asked, crouching down.
"Yeah," Nick muttered. "Ah man!"
"We should get back to Rootcore," Xander said as they got to their feet. "We need to see if we can track down Necrolai before they do anymore damage."
Nodding in agreement, they all took off for the base. When they got there, they were immediately confronted by Udonna.
"Have any of you seen Fire Heart?" she asked.
Frowning, the rangers shook their heads.
"No," Chip said.
"Not me," said Nick.
"Not for a while," Madison added.
Udonna sighed.
"He's gone missing," she said. "Clare is beside herself combing the forest. If he falls into the wrong hands before he reaches adulthood, he could—"
"Jenji," Daggeron interrupted, turning to look at Jenji. "What have you done?"
He had noticed the cat trying to sneak around behind them. Jenji froze.
"Well, uh…" Jenji stammered.
"Since dragons like Fire Heart grow into adults in an instant, I thought he'd be happier in the forest," Jenji tried explaining.
Under Daggeron's glare, Jenji had confessed to taking Fire Heart out of Rootcore. So now he was leading them to where he'd left the baby dragon. Vida and Xander had stayed at Rootcore to try and locate Necrolai.
"We're not buying it, Jenji," Madison said patiently.
"Fine, don't believe me," Jenji said shortly. "Why would I care where that dumb, useless, attention getting dragon lives? Oh, oh, oh!"
He hadn't meant to say that where the rangers could hear him. But something caught Nick's attention.
"Hey, that's my blanket," Nick said, jogging over to pick up the small red blanket.
"Your blanket?" Madison said in surprise, watching him. "Isn't that a baby blanket?"
Nick looked up at her. She smiled, glancing at Chip.
"You kept it since you were a baby?" she asked. "Oh, that's cute. He's cute."
She smiled, one hand to her mouth.
"This blanket is all I have from my birth parents," Nick shrugged.
Madison's smiled slipped a little.
"Oh, you were adopted," she said. "I didn't know that…"
Nick shrugged again.
"No, no. No big thing," he reassured her. "My adoptive parents are great. It turned out fine. I just keep it—I'm not really sure why I keep it."
He frowned, looking at the blanket.
"Guys, I need your help!" Jenji cried from ahead a little ways.
Forgetting about the blanket and Nick being adopted, the three rangers ran to see what was wrong.
"Where is he?" Jenji said woefully. "I—I left him right here! Fire Heart is—gone!"
"No sign of Fire Heart…" Vida sighed, shaking her head.
They were back at Rootcore, using everything they could think of to find the missing dragon.
"And I've got more bad news," Daggeron said, joining them. "Jenji is gone, too."
"Well, maybe he's looking for Fire Heart," Chip suggested.
Daggeron shook his head.
"I don't think so," he said. "He left a note. 'I'm not looking for Fire Heart, I'm running away. No one cares about me. Your ex-friend, Jenji.'"
The rangers exchanged concerned looks.
"This is our fault," Madison said ruefully. "We were spending so much time with Fire Heart we forgot about Jenji…"
Daggeron sighed.
"It's something he's familiar with," he said slowly. "You see, Jenji was banished from his homeland. Cast away by the ones he loved the most."
"Who would banish Jenji?" Chip frowned. "He's great."
The others nodded in agreement.
"Jenji was the strongest and most popular cat in the land," Daggeron continued. "Rexigan, the very jealous king cat, had a witch cast a spell over the entire village, convincing everyone that Jenji was evil. Everyone turned their backs on Jenji and he was banished. When I met Jenji, he was a wandering nomad—all alone…When he opened a box containing an evil trap, the only thing I could do to keep him from disappearing forever was to put him in the lamp. And, if Jenji doesn't return to the lamp within two hours, he'll be lost forever."
As the rangers exchanged grim looks, Udonna rushed over.
"Necrolai is back," she said. "Go, rangers."
They all turned for the door.
"You guys go," Madison said, shaking her head. "I'm gonna look for Jenji. He doesn't have much time…"
So, as the others headed to try and stop Necrolai and Screamer, Madison went in search of Jenji. After searching for a while, she finally found him down an alley near some trash cans.
"Jenji!" Madison called as she approached the alley. "Jenji."
She looked at him in relief as she rounded the corner.
"How'd you find me?" Jenji frowned. "Or a better question—why'd you find me?"
Madison sighed, but gestured for Jenji to sit so they could talk.
Nick, Xander, Vida, and Chip could hear Necrolai and Screamer as they ran up. They were busy turning more people into feathers.
"No point in running!" Screamer cackled, striking another group of people.
"When the power rangers turn up," Necrolai laughed. "We'll featherize them, too."
"Hey!" Nick shouted as they charged in, already morphed.
Screamer spun and directed an attack at them.
"Watch it!" Vida exclaimed, dodging.
"Get them!" Necrolai ordered.
"Jenji, you've gotta get back to that lamp," Madison sighed. "If you don't, you—"
"Oh, like you guys care," Jenji interrupted.
Madison was still trying to convince Jenji to go back to his lamp. But he was being stubborn, still hurt by their inattention.
"Jenji, how can you say that?" Madison asked.
"You guys made it quite clear that you like that smoke-belching, scaly-faced, skinny-winged, can't-even-purr-if-you-paid-him dragon more than me," he pouted.
Madison shook her head.
"I know it may seem that way, but it's not true," she insisted.
"Is," Jenji retorted.
"Is not," Madison frowned.
"Is," Jenji repeated.
Madison rolled her eyes.
"Is not," she said again. "We love you, Jenji. We were paying a lot of attention to Fire Heart, and we forgot about you—forgot about your feelings."
"Yes, you did," Jenji said shortly.
Sighing again, Madison looked at him pleadingly.
"How many times do I have to say we're sorry?" she asked.
Jenji thought about it for a moment.
"Six would be nice," he answered.
Madison smiled.
"Oh—okay," she laughed. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry."
Jenji nodded in satisfaction.
"But the next time you get your fur in a knot you can't just dump your problems in the forest," Madison continued. "You gotta talk about it. It's no better than what Rexigan did to you…"
Jenji drooped.
"You're right," he sighed. "I let you all down. I deserve what's about to happen to me."
Madison shook her head.
"Nothing is gonna happen to you if you just—" she cut off as her mystic morpher went off.
She leapt to her feet as a message crackled through.
"Maddy, we need help!" Nick cried.
Nick and the others were struggling to face both Necrolai and Screamer. The four were really taking a beating. Stumbling, Nick pulled out his wand to call Madison. They needed her help.
"Maddy, we need help!" he called desperately.
But the momentary distraction gave Necrolai time to grab him.
"You're mine!" she exclaimed.
She sent another spell at Nick, knocking him to the ground. He climbed back to his feet as Vida jumped into defend him.
"Hey!" Nick shouted as she threw Vida.
"You're turn!" Necrolai said, throwing Nick into Vida and knocking them both down. "Screamer, rangers down."
Before either of them could get up, Screamer turned her magic on them, turning both Vida and Nick into feathers. Xander and Chip charged.
"Crossbow!" Chip shouted.
But his attack was deflected and, before he or Xander could dive out of the way, they were both caught in Screamer's retaliatory attack.
Madison looked with wide eyes at her morpher.
"Guys, are you okay?" she cried. "Where are you? Guys?"
There was no answer. Spinning, Madison went to tell Jenji she was going to find them, but he was gone, too.
"Jenji?" she said in surprise. "Oh no."
Hoping she'd make it in time, Madison bolted to find the others.
"Yes," Necrolai laughed, looking at the four piles of feathers before her. "This is perfect. All we need now is the blue ranger."
But it wasn't Madison who got there first. Jenji charged into the fight, determined to save his friends as he attacked Screamer.
"Ugh. I hate cats," Necrolai hissed.
"Meow, baby," Jenji grinned. "You're in trouble now cause Jenji is here!"
"Bring it on, kitty!" Screamer cried. "Let's do this."
They charged each other. But Screamer got the best of Jenji, sending him flying backward.
"Take that," she squawked.
Madison ran in, ready to join the fight and saw Jenji on the ground. She attacked Screamer, putting herself between the monster and Jenji.
"Jenji, are you ok?" she asked.
He groaned and Madison attacked Screamer. They fought hard for a few minutes, and then Screamer managed to take her down. Madison was sent flying backward. Hitting the ground hard, she demorphed. For a moment she just lay there, stunned and in pain.
"No! No!" Jenji cried. "No, I wish I had more time!"
He had gotten back to his feet, but time was running out and he started to fade. But his desperate cry worked. The magic of the genii worked and he was solid again for the moment. Madison sighed in relief as Jenji turned back to Screamer.
"Hey, it worked!" Jenji laughed. "No more taking it easy on you, birdbrain!"
"Jenji!" Madison exclaimed as he faced down the monster.
"I've had enough of you!" Screamer shouted.
Jenji scoffed.
"You haven't seen anything yet!" he boasted. "Watch this! Super cat attack!"
He struck Screamer hard, severing the beak that emitted the feather magic from her head.
"My beak!" she screamed. "My beautiful beak! Now I can't do anything!"
Madison climbed back to her feet, running toward Jenji.
"Where is he?" Udonna fretted, pacing out onto the high balcony.
Daggeron followed, Jenji's lamp in hand. There was still no sign of him.
"Udonna!" Clare cried, running up to them. "I found Fire Heart! And he has really grown!"
Udonna turned to look at her in surprise.
"That's wonderful, but, Clare, Jenji hasn't returned to his lamp," she said. "His time is about to run out."
Clare looked at them with wide eyes.
"It will take a miracle to save him," Daggeron sighed, looking at the lamp in his hands.
There was a loud roar and the sound of wings.
"Woah!" Daggeron shouted as he was suddenly lifted into the air by Fire Heart.
"Yeah! Go Fire Heart!" Clare called after them.
As Madison reached Jenji, he started fading again. Madison dropped to her knees next to him, looking at her friend in horror.
"Jenji," she cried. "Why didn't you go back to Rootcore and save yourself?"
"You guys are my family," Jenji said sadly as he quickly faded away. "My only family. Tell Fire Heart I'm sorry..."
He vanished from sight as Madison gasped. But there was a roar from up high and Daggeron dropped in, Fire Heart flying off back to the forest. Daggeron immediately held out the lamp, hoping to pull Jenji back into. A silver mist started flowing back into the lamp and Madison stood up, watching hopefully.
"Tell him yourself," Daggeron said in relief.
Jenji popped his head back out of the lamp.
"Ah, home sweet home," he sighed.
Madison laughed, smiling to see him.
"Touching," Screamer exclaimed. "But I'm not through with you yet!"
Daggeron and Madison turned to face her.
"Time to ranger up, Maddy," Daggeron said.
She nodded, pulling out her morpher.
"Magical source, Mystic Force!" she cried. "Let's get her Jenji!"
Reaching over, she took the lamp from a surprised Daggeron.
"Oh, yeah!" Jenji laughed.
"Solaris laser lamp!" said Madison, readying the lamp for an attack.
Nodding, Daggeron stepped back.
"Ok, do it," he said.
"Jenji shining attack," Madison said, taking aim at Screamer.
"You're—you're nothing!" Screamer shouted, charging at her.
"Fire!" Madison cried.
"Take this!" Jenji shouted as the spell hit dead on.
Screamer fell with a cry.
"Scream at this," Madison smirked.
Screamer's spells over the rangers and the people shattered and they returned to their original forms.
"What? No!" Necrolai screamed. "This isn't over. Grow Screamer!"
The other four rangers ran to join Madison and Daggeron.
"Thanks, Maddy!" Nick exclaimed.
"Thank Jenji," she corrected.
With shouts, they called their zord forms. Jenji returned to fight with Daggeron, though he took control of the zord.
"Whoa, nice to be back," Jenji grinned at the controls.
"Nice to have you back, Jenji," Daggeron said.
Jenji tossed him the coal shovel and he looked at it in surprise. But he let it go.
"Not this time!" Jenji shouted as Screamer attacked.
"Furnace blast!" Daggeron shouted.
Screamer fell backward, stumbling as the rangers charged into the fight.
"Spirits of the Ancient Titans!" they cried together.
Screamer went down, the battle over.
"Checkmate!" all of the rangers shouted.
"My goose is cooked!" Screamer cried as she fell for the last time.
"Yeah! We did it! Alright!" Jenji exclaimed in excitement.
"Thank you, Jenji," Daggeron said a while later. "I'm glad you're back with us."
Daggeron, Udonna, and Jenji were approaching the entrance to Rootcore. The five rangers had returned to Briarwood and work after all of them apologized to Jenji again.
"I was pretty good, wasn't I?" Jenji preened.
"Look out below!" a shout interrupted.
The three looked up in time to see Phineas come crashing down, dropped by Fire Heart.
"Thanks for the lift, PJ!" he shouted after the dragon. "Tomorrow we'll work on the landings!"
Smiling, Phineas turned to Udonna.
"He's a good boy," he said fondly. "Thank you so much for letting me dragon-sit him."
"Anytime, Phineas," Udonna smiled.
They started to turn back toward the entrance as Phineas continued talking.
"I never got to see the other baby I left in the human world twenty years ago," he said absently. "It kind of makes me sad…"
Udonna froze in surprise, turning to look at him again.
"What baby?" she asked, stepping toward Phineas.
He stared at her.
"Oops. Ha, uh, did I say, 'baby'?" he stammered. "No, no. It must have just sounded like I said 'baby'. What I actually said was 'lady'. Uh…"
Udonna looked at him expectantly as he tried to dodge.
"What about—oh… her will is too strong," Phineas grumbled. "Must tell the truth."
He hesitated for another moment and then gave in.
"Ok, fine," he sighed. "When Daggeron and Calandor were having their little dispute twenty years ago, I found a baby. Yeah. But with the great battle going on I knew I couldn't care for him myself so I took him to the human world. I left him somewhere safe."
"Bowen?" Udonna breathed, her face lighting up. "Bowen is alive? Daggeron, I have to find him."
She spun, intending to head straight to the human world to look for him.
"Udonna, wait," Daggeron said, stopping her. "If he is in the human world, then he is safe. We should focus on destroying evil before we put Bowen in harm's way. If they find out he's alive…"
He trailed off and Udonna sighed, nodding.
"You're right," she agreed, turning back to Phineas. "We must keep this a secret from everyone. Or Bowen will be in grave danger."