DISCLAIMER
Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban, Fox Kids, and Disney. I only own characters you don't recognize. There are some lines from "Countdown To Destruction" in this chap, but I'm trying to make it as different as possible.
Without a word, Magnus and his troops took Jason, the kid Ranger, and the other citizens and brought them into the middle of town.
"What's going on?" the boy questioned.
"I don't know. They seem to want us for something," Jason responded. A creature's image appeared in the sky and Jason tensed. Maligore? he wondered.
"Citizens of Earth, I am Dark Specter and you are here because the Power Rangers have stolen one of my warriors! If they return Astronema to me, or you hand over the Rangers, you will be spared," the creature said.
"Yeah, right," the boy muttered and Jason laughed in spite of himself.
"I will give you until tomorrow morning to make your decision," Dark Specter stated. Then, he disappeared. The boy looked at him.
"What are we going to do?" he questioned.
"Don't worry, kid. The Power will protect us," Jason assured.
"The name's Justin," he told him.
"Right. Sorry," Jason apologized. Meanwhile, the Astro Rangers had clustered together.
"What are we going to do?" Cassie wondered.
"I'll go back. Maybe I can stop him," Karone stated.
"No! We've already lost you once. We can't risk you again," Andros objected.
"But---" Karone began.
"He speaks for all of us," TJ told her. The girl fell silent, realizing that she was overruled. Carlos looked at Ashley who had been silent throughout their whole meeting. He took her aside.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"I don't know. I've just got a bad feeling about Jason," she answered.
"He'll be okay," he assured.
"I guess," she said.
"Do you want me to go see if I can find him?"
"No. We should all stay together." While this was going on, the citizens of Angel Grove talked amongst themselves for hours.
"Look, we've been over this again and again," a woman stated. "It's clear what that thing wants. I say we find this Astronema person and hand her over."
"We can't do that. The Rangers must have some reason for protecting her," Katherine objected.
"Well then, where are they? Why don't they come?" an old man wondered.
"Maybe the Rangers have left us," the woman worried. There was a general murmuring among the crowd. Kimberly started speak up, but somebody surprising beat her to it.
"Now, hold on, everyone!" Bulk exclaimed, standing up. "The Rangers have never let us down before and they won't let us down now. We have to have faith that they'll be here," he said.
"Bulk's right. The Rangers will come through," Kimberly agreed as he sat down. No one noticed the Astro Rangers listening in. Ashley looked at her teammates.
"They're counting on us," she told them.
"We have to do something," Zhane commented. He had come back to Earth after the rebels had surrendered to a member of Dark Specter's army.
"Yeah, but what?" Karone wondered as Andros started off. Seeing this, Ashley went after him.
"Andros, what are you doing?" she questioned.
"I've got to rescue Zordon," he told her.
"You can't go alone, it's suicide," she insisted.
"I have to try," he stated. "If I don't come back---" Ashley cut off Andros' words with a hand.
"You'll be back," she said. Then, she kissed him.
"Ashley---"
"For luck." He took off, morphing along the way. The next morning, Dark Specter appeared again.
"The Rangers are cowards! They are willing to sacrifice you to save themselves!" he roared. "Give them up and I'll spare you," he added. He was only met with silence. "Fine! Dest---"
"Wait!" Everyone turned to see who had interrupted the evil monarch. "I…am the Blue Ranger," Bulk proclaimed. Everyone stared.
"What?" Jason and Justin chorused.
"I am the Black Ranger!" Skull shouted.
"I---I---I am the Red Ranger," an old man stated, coming by to stand with them.
"You can call me the Pink Ranger, honey," an African-American woman declared, joining them.
"I'm the Silver Ranger," an extremely old man said.
"And I'm the Yellow Ranger," a woman stated. One-by-one, the town picked up the cry.
"Whoa," Justin whispered. This is unbelievable, he thought.
"Morphinominal," Jason murmured. He grunted as something suddenly appeared on his belt buckle. He looked down. My Morpher. But how? he wondered. Then, his lips curved into a smile. Zordon, he thought. He had somehow brought back his powers. Unknown to him, his friends had discovered the same thing.
"What in the world?" Katherine wondered, running a hand over her Zeonizers.
"If that's the way you want it, fine! Destroy them all!" Dark Specter shouted. The aliens got ready to charge.
"Not so fast, Dark Specter!" Jason interjected. I hope Justin and I aren't the only ones who can do this, he thought. "It's morphin' time!"
"Mastodon!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Triceratops!"
"Saber-toothed Tiger!"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
"Yellow Ranger Power!"
"Zeo Ranger 1, Pink!"
"Zeo Ranger 2, Yellow!"
"Zeo Ranger 3, Blue!"
"Zeo Ranger 4, Green!"
"Zeo Ranger 5, Red!"
"Shift into Turbo! Mountain Blaster Turbo Power!"
"Let's Rocket!" As soon as Zack, Kimberly, Billy, Trini, Jason, Aisha, Katherine, Tanya, Rocky, Adam, Tommy, Justin, and the Astro Rangers were morphed, they went on the defensive.
"Come on! Let's get in there! Who's with me?" With a roar, the crowd followed Bulk into battle. On the Dark Fortress, the Red Astro Ranger had finally found Zordon.
"Zordon!" he cried in relief.
"Andros," the sage said.
"Zordon, I'll get you out," he assured.
"Andros, you must destroy my tube," he said.
"No, Zordon! I can't!" the Ranger objected. Back in Angel Grove, Karone was fighting with a school of Piranhatrons. She was so focused on the underlings that she didn't even notice Divatox coming up behind her.
"Die, traitor," she sneered, and then shot lasers out of her eyes.
"Princess, look out!" Before she could react, she had been knocked to the ground.
"ECLIPTOR!" Her bodyguard fell to the ground with a grunt. The Astros formed a circle around him as Karone ran to him.
"Ecliptor, you saved me," she said.
"Of course, my Princess. I could not let you fall," he told her. He let out a ragged breath.
"Ecliptor, stay with me," she begged, her voice breaking. As the Red Mighty Morphin and Blue Turbo Rangers fought, no one noticed Magnus making his way towards them. Then, "Jason!" At the sound the Red Zeo Ranger's voice, the Red Mighty Morphin Ranger turned around and his breath caught. No, he thought. Images swam before his eyes: the kidnapping, the fight ring, the torture.
"You're mine, Jason," Magnus sneered.
"I don't think so, Magnus! Power Sword!" he called. The weapon appeared in his hands and the two began to fight. On the Dark Fortress, Zordon was still trying to convince the Red Astro Ranger to destroy his energy tube.
"Zordon, no! There's gotta be another way!" he insisted.
"Well, you could always die." At the sound of the new voice, the Ranger turned around.
"Darkonda!" With a cry of rage, he attacked. The battle was short-lived with Andros dealing the monster his final blow.
"Andros…you must hurry." The Ranger sighed.
"Okay, Zordon." With a cry, he used his Spiral Saber to smash the tube. Immediately, a gold wave covered the galaxy and various villains were destroyed.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! Don't let it get me, Zeddy!" Rita screeched and the light covered her, her husband, and their henchmen. When it disappeared, Rita, Zedd, Goldar, and Rito were human. Zedd and Rita stared at each other with love in their eyes.
"Wanna dance?" Zedd flirted. She gave him a smile, and they danced off together. Rito and Goldar stared at each other. Rito had turned into a skinny, lanky young man, and Goldar was now a muscular man in his late twenties.
"Whoa. That was weird," Rito commented.
"Yes. Very much so," Goldar agreed. They stared at each other, unsure of what to do. The Blue Centurion and Phantom Rangers halted their actions as their foes disappeared. Jason had just run his Power Sword through Magnus' body when the villain crumbled into dust. When the gold wave had dissipated completely, the Rangers had de-morphed and each was filled with a sense of sadness.
"Whoa. That was weird," Tommy commented.
"Is everyone all right?" Kimberly asked.
"Yeah, we're good," Katherine responded.
"Zordon's gone. I can feel it," Rocky stated.
"Me too," agreed Tanya. Karone held Ecliptor in her arms.
"Ecliptor, please…don't leave me," she pleaded, starting to cry.
"Oh, Karone. I'm so sorry," Cassie said softly. The former villainess' tears continued and the metal body melted away to reveal a young, muscular man with brown hair.
"My Princess, I'm all right," he said, stroking her face. She gasped.
"Ecliptor," she said happily. They hugged and she helped him up. All of Angel Grove crowded around the Rangers, thanking them and clamoring around them.
"All this time---I can't believe you guys were the Power Rangers," Bulk said.
"Yeah, Bulk…it's true," Jason confirmed.
"It was right under our noses," Skull stated with a shake of his head.
"Hey, you guys were awesome! Totally brave," Kimberly told them, surprising them with a hug, which they returned. After a few minutes, the Astros went to the Megaship and headed for the planet that the rebels had been on. Once there, Zhane, Karone, and the others went to help the colony load their stuff on another ship.
"I guess this is goodbye, huh?" Ashley questioned, holding Andros' hand.
"I never thought I'd have to say goodbye," Andros commented.
"But KO-35's your home, just like Earth is mine," Ashley said. She gave his hand a quick squeeze and then he watched as she headed back for the Megaship, where she was followed shortly by TJ, Carlos, and Cassie. They said nothing, but stared at their Yellow Ranger who just sat at her controls. TJ was about to say something when a voice interrupted him.
"Deca, set a course for Earth." Happily, Ashley jumped from her seat and turned around to see Andros, Zhane, Karone, and Ecliptor.
"My home is with you," he told her. She kissed him passionately. While this was happening, Zhane walked past them to Andros' chair, sat in it, and propped his feet up. Ashley laughed. The others turned around and the others chuckled.
"Deca, set a course for Earth," TJ stated.
"Acknowledged," Deca replied. Zhane just grinned as ship went into hyper-drive. They were all going home.
THE END