disclaimer-so, we have these three little power ranger action figure type toys, but other than that, I do not own anything related to power rangers in any way. oh, but we do have a bunch of movies and old episodes and stuff, but yeah, no rights to the actual show.

Chapter Seventeen-In Which The Fighting Ensues And Things Are Lost

"How is it that we always end up back here?" Ann asked no one in particular, as she looked around a corner of the moon palace. "And seriously, who decorates this place? It's so ugly! And wh-"

"Ann." Ted said softly.

"What?" She asked, stopping mid-sentence, and mid-step, to turn around to see what he wanted.

"You're rambling." He replied. "And we kinda don't want to be discovered. So you should probably be a bit quieter."

"Sorry." Ann said sheepishly.

"Ugh!" Ada said in disgust. "Not something I want to see."

"You don't want to see this?" Jason questioned her. "I don't want to see this."

"See what?" Ann and Ted asked at the same time.

Identical evil grins lit up Jason and Ada's faces as they glanced at each other.

"You two flirting with each other." They chorused together.

"Enough." David said suddenly, a slight smile in his eyes at the horrified expressions on Ted and Ann's faces. Who cared that they were dating...well sort of, anyway? They were still embarrassed. "We need to get to the throne room, and get that staff."

"Hey!" Ann said suddenly, looking around at the assembled group. "Where'd Kyle go?"

"Grandma, Hayley, and you and David brought him with them, to wherever it is they're going." Ada answered promptly. "No idea what they're planning on doing. So, where's the throne room?"

"This way." Ann said, motioning everyone forward as she took charge once more.

It took a while, about five wrong turns, and then a few random stops along the way because someone (usually Kaylie) realized that they had lost Willie, who, along with Zachary, Ada had insisted upon bringing with for some strange reason...but anyway, the group of nine rangers plus two more eventually wound up just outside of the throne room. And it is there, that we find them next, strategizing their entrance into the throne room.

"Zachary and Willie should stay out here for now." Kimmie said. "They don't have any powers to protect themselves with. You could, like, hide behind that weird statue-ish thing over there."

Crystal and the two triplets turned around to look where Kimmie was pointing. Crystal nodded her agreement.

"Good hiding spot." She agreed. "I would know."

"Ok, then." Ada said. "Me and Sam should go in first. Scarlette wouldn't recognize us, so if she's in there, it would throw her off."

"I like that plan." Ann said. "So then the rest of us will follow if anything goes wrong."

"Or if she's not there." David added. He turned to Crystal. "And while the six of us are helping the two of them-"

"I'll sneak up on Scarlette and see if I can get the staff." Crystal finished with a nod. "It'll probably be resting beside her throne. She doesn't always like holding it if she's just sitting down."

"This should work." Sam said.

"Don't say that!" Kaylie said suddenly. "Whenever someone says something is going to be fine, it usually isn't. If we fail on this mission, I'm blaming you."

"You guys?" Jason said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him, while he stared at something beyond their group. "Kaylie was right. Everything isn't going to be fine." Jason stated.

"Why?" Ann demanded impatiently.

Jason raised a hand and pointed down the hall. "Because General Haxel and Goldar are standing right there listening to every word we say, and at the current moment, are slowly advancing towars us while we were previsouly oblivious to their present."

"Momentarily overlooking the fact that you are, in fact, correct," Kimmie began, while everyone else around them took up fighting stances, "Are you entirely sure that you are Jason Oliver and not Willie?"

Jason nodded. "Quite sure. Willie's behind that ugly statue-ish thing over there."

Kimmie nodded her agreeance. "In that case, we should probably join everyone else in the fighting that is about to ensue with these two...things."

"Good plan." Jason said, before ditching Kimmie to go fight off the putties that had just appeared out of nowhere.

"Mommy?" Kyle asked, tugging on Ann's sleeve. She looked down in surprise.

"Um...yes?" Ann asked uncertainly. It was still unnerving to know that in the future, she would be a mother. Well, sort of anyway...She wasn't exactly Kyle and Ada's mother.

"Where are we goin'?" Kyle asked. "And where's Ada? If she doesn't come back soon, than you're gonna get really mad at her. I know you will."

Ann smiled at this. "Don't worry. I promise I won't get mad. Besides, I'm here with you right now, right?"

"Yep." Kyle said. "So, where are we goin'?"

"We're going to a place where there are people who can help us." Kim said. "Well, we're going somewhere where we can contact someone who can help us."

"Okay." Kyle said happily.

Ann turned to her mother. "Are we going home?"

Kim nodded. "Hayley said she can get ahold of Andros. And we'll need his help to round everyone else up. Who knows where they are? And he can teleport them somewhere safe until Scarlette's spell can be broken."

"Good plan." David said distractedly. "But we have a problem."

"What?"

David pointed to the Oliver house, which was now in their line of vision.

"They're all already at the house. We can't get in."

Somehow, in the midst of all the fighting, Ada had found herself without an opponent. When no one even glanced her way, she quickly edged over to the place where Zachary and Willie were hiding. After making sure there was still no one looking, Ada ducked behind the statue with them.

"So," Willie said conversationally, "Things seem to be going according to plan."

"Very much so." Ada said agreeably. "Look, no one's paying attention, so I'm gonna try to go with the plan. Stay here, but watch my back in case anyone sees me go into the throne room. Scarlette has to be in there, she hasn't shown up here yet and there really isn't anywhere else to go."

"Got it." Zachary replied. "We'll try to send them in after you as well, if you don't come back."

"And to think," Ada muttered, "I thought I was missin something positive in my life without you guys."

Peeking around the corner, Ada saw that the coast was clear so she made her way across the hall, while avoiding the fighting, to the throne room door which was slightly ajar. Upon reaching it, Ada pushed it open just a bit more, so that she was able to slip through.

The sight that met her eyes when she looked around the room, however, was one that she should have known to expect.

"Why, hello there." Scarlette said in a sickeningly sweet voice, from her place atop her throne. "I've been expecting you rangers to show up sometime. It's a shame you aren't that annoying little pink ranger though, she and I have some...issues we have to deal with, still."

"Oh, dear." Ada said softly. Not expecting Scarlette to be sitting there in anticipation was one thing, but finding your grandfather standing beside the evil empress's throne with a feirce, and loyal, expression on his face was a quite different thing.

"What do we do now?" Hayley questioned. "That place is swarming with evil ex-rangers. I'm not going in there."

"We draw them out." Ann said simply. "Me and David'll do it. They're looking for the rangers. We're rangers. We run. They follow. It'll all work out fine."

David nodded his aggreance, as did Hayley after thinking it through for a brief moment. All three turned to Kim, now, for her approval of the plan.

"I like it." Kim said, glancing briefly at the house then back at the three people before her. Her eyes went wide with worry, and her head snapped back in the direction of the house. "You guys, who has Kyle?"