Hey everyone, sorry I havent uploaded for such a long time- schoolwork/homework is overtaking my life :/

Anyway, please review :)

Alura xx

Chapter 8

The firemen approached the rubble cautiously, idly putting out embers and flames when they appeared. The young fireman grabbed a fire hose and trumped through the rubble. As the smoke began to clear, he saw a large flame in the middle of the rubble. He put the water onto it, blasting it with the fire hose and the high pressure water, when the flames screamed at him.

The monster emerged and roared towards him, appearing to have its hands outstretched. The fireman was determined not to be beaten, even though his colleges almost scattered as the monster approached. He turned up the pressure on the hose, and blasted the creature. The creature slowed and stopped as it was just about to reach him. The fireman kicked the fire demon and it disintegrated, bursting into a cloud of ash. The other firemen yelled out words of praise to him, but they were too busy to congratulate him fully.

Meanwhile, at the command centre, Zordon had called in Billy and Ninjor, who were watching the unfolding events on the viewing globe. Billy was almost angry at Zordon for calling him in and making him feel so helpless. Now he finally understood what Tommy must have felt when he lost his Green Ranger powers. Now, more than ever, Billy wished that he was an active Ranger again. He was actually close to tears as they watched the firemen work.

"She didn't teleport out, Zordon," said Alpha. "Her position hasn't moved from the building. If she had teleported, she might have taken the fire monster with her. Aiyayayai!"

"Don't worry, Billy." Billy jumped at suddenly hearing Ninjor's voice. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

The firemen quickly put out the remaining fires, trying to remain calm. But they all felt responsible for what had happened, and they all had the same lingering question. Where was the Gold Ranger? Once all the fires were out, the men with the fire hoses retreated and the others began to work through the rubble, looking for someone, anyone. The young fireman threw his hose down and cautiously made his way to where the fire monster had emerged from. Sorting through the rubble desperately, Billy watched him closely on the viewing globe.

"Alpha, zoom in on that fireman."

Alpha toggled with a joystick, moving the camera in so that they could see the young man's face. Billy practically fainted when he saw who it was.

"Who is that?" Ninjor questioned, fiddling with his sword.

Billy smiled. "It's hope." The tiny glimmer of hope that all Rangers live for was back in Billy once again.

The fire man stopped suddenly as he uncovered a gloved hand. He felt for a pulse. It was there, but fairly weak. He quickly uncovered the Gold Rangers head and shoulders. The Ranger was lying on her front under a large amount of broken glass and smouldering mess, just as if she was a part of the rubble itself. The young man shook the Ranger gently, aware of causing further damage.

"Ranger, can you hear me?"

The Gold Ranger suddenly inhaled sharply, making the young man jump. She moved her head and arms slightly as the man continued to uncover the rest of her from the rubble. He gently flipped her over onto her back, clearing a sort of clean spot around her in the debris.

"Sarge!" he called, waving his hands around. "Over here!"

As the Sarge waded through the rubble, making his way over gradually, Alura's vision focused on the young man. He looked somewhat familiar to her, but where..?

It suddenly dawned on her. She had seen this man's face on the Operation REDLESS list, and she had heard his voice many times before.

"J- Jason?"

Jason stopped and stared at her. Not only had the Gold Ranger just spoken in a female voice, she also knew his name.

"How do you know who I am?"

She went to sit up and tried to say something else, but she collapsed, blood coming from a large gash on her right leg, which had several pieces of glass and wooden splinters imbedded in it. The Sarge looked down on the Ranger.

"Jesus Christ!" exclaimed the Sarge. "Will he be alright, Jason?"

Jason quickly felt along Alura's neck and ribs. "I think that he'll be alright." said Jason. "Nothing's broken, but I don't like the look of that leg. It could get infected if that shrapnel isn't removed."

The Sarge nodded. "Gee, Jason, that paramedic course you did comes in real handy. I'll call an ambulance."

As the Sarge turned to go, he mumbled to himself. "I didn't know that Rangers could bleed…"

Jason stared at Alura as she breathed shallowly. He was extremely suspicious at this point, not sure whether to acknowledge him-… her as a friend or foe. He had only been back in Angel Grove for a few days, and he hadn't heard anything about a Gold Zeo Ranger. This wasn't what he'd expected when he had volunteered with the fire department. He had been trying to find an average hero inside himself, not something Power Ranger related. He remembered back to Tommy as the sixth Ranger, and how evil he was. But even if this Ranger was evil, why would she save civilians? He also wasn't sure if she even was a Ranger. Her armour… it was so different. It hadn't stopped her from getting injured at all, except for the shoulder shield, which had probably stopped her from breaking her ribs and neck. It reminded him of Tommy's dragon shield, except that it was round, not triangular. She couldn't be human, Jason knew that much.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her, just to break his trail of thought.

"I'll be okay…" her voice was barely a whisper. Jason was aware that she was probably under surveillance, therefore he was as well. She reached for her wrist, but found that her communicator was broken, probably from the impact of her fall. She could try teleporting with it, but that would prove dangerous. Her molecules could get scrambled, both because of her weakened state and the broken device.

"Don't teleport," said Jason. "I'll help you get out of here. I take it you'll need to go to the command centre?"

The Gold Ranger nodded. "I was hoping to avoid that…"

Jason pulled out a small first aid kit from his pocket, and got a pair of tweezers out. He started to remove shrapnel from her leg, quickly and efficiently. As soon as he had got most of it out, the Gold Ranger began to glow a solid gold colour. The rest of the shrapnel seemed to fall out by itself as the wound began to rapidly heal. It stopped bleeding, and then healed completely; leaving nothing, not even a scar. The material of the armour then seemed to pull itself back together too. She stood shakily with Jason's help. She seemed to be completely alright, just a bit shaky from the impact of the fall and the sudden events.

"Thanks, Jason," she spoke in her male voice again, much to Jason's confusion. "I'll be able to make my own way to the command centre. "

"You sure?" Jason helped through of the rubble, noticing that she didn't have a laser pistol of any kind with her, only a sword.

"You've been more than enough help tonight." She said as they finally landed on solid ground. "Besides," she said in a commanding yet gentle tone. "I would rather you didn't get mixed up in business that is no longer your own."

Jason just stared at her. "Who are you?"

"I am no one."

Ninjor rolled his eyes at Alura's secrecy. "Well," said Ninjor, stretching his arms upward. "I'm gonna head back to the temple." He whispered sideways to Billy. "I don't think she's very happy with me at the moment."

Billy smiled at his friends playful mannerisms. "See you round Ninjor."

Ninjor nodded to Zordon and Alpha before teleporting out.

Alura briefly nodded to the fire chief, who gave a confused grin and waved in her general direction. "Cancel that ambulance." He said to one of the other firemen.

She ran down an alley way away from the crowds, but Jason noticed that she was still limping on her injured leg.

"Wait…" he ran after her. "Wait!"

Alura continued to run, rounding the corners of a few blocks, trying to shake Jason so that she would be able to turn into the Dragon and fly away without him seeing. But her leg was slowing her down more than it should have been. She assumed that she was also weak because of the power that she had previously put into the force field. She turned to him, and he caught up with her, panting.

"What's going on?" he demanded. "You're not an earth Ranger. Why are you here and where are Tommy and the others?"

"Like I said," she was practically growling at him. "This sort of business is no longer yours." Alura hadn't really meant to be aggressive towards Jason, but she couldn't think of anything else at that moment that would get him to go.

She heard a cackle behind her, and Alura turned to see Rita. It was just Rita this time, no putties or Tengus or anything. Jason suddenly realized the mistake he had made by following her. He'd put himself in a dangerous situation, and Alura knew that she would now have to protect the defenceless Red warrior.

"Red Rangers are stubborn, aren't they, Gold One?" Rita was talking as if they were old friends who had just bumped into each other after years of not seeing one another.

"I hate it when you're right." Alura stood between Jason and Rita, ready to summon her own staff as she observed Rita's. "What do you want? And you'd better have a good reason this time."

"I've been thinking," Rita caressed her staff thoughtfully, putting Alura on edge. "If what you've told me is right, and all of the pieces of your story fit in with mine, I think we have a way we can end the conflict on this planet."

"I'm not going to like it, whatever your suggestion."

"You should join me."

"…No, I don't like it."

"Come on Gold one, it makes sense for you to join our forces."

"How? What could possibly make me want to join your side?"

Rita smiled evilly, and her eyes flashed. "Your haunted past, Ranger. Do you remember it? Your past is full of mistakes."

Alura narrowed her eyes. "We all make mistakes."

"Not like you…"

Rita's laughing caused Alura to remember. She remembered everything. And for the first time that she had been Rita's presence, she felt genuinely scared.

-flashback-

The Gold Ranger, sparking with energy and anger, leapt onto the rooftops and leapt across them, picking up the Power tracking device as she went. But this time she wasn't after the Green Rangers signal. She set it to find something much larger than a human. Much larger. Stopping as the rooftops ran out, she panted hard, and angrily. She realized that she would only have a limited amount of time to do this.

She overlooked the water and the docklands. It was far too still, as if in anticipation of something. From the top of the building, she could see clearly where the signal was coming from. Before anyone could see her, she dived from the top of the building and landed in the water, barely creating a ripple on the water's surface.

She began to swim down as her eyes adjusted to the dark waters. Thankfully she was able to keep going without going back up for air, as her helmet provided her with oxygen. It got darker and darker as she went down, but she could see a sinister green glow getting brighter the deeper she went. And then she saw it. The Dragonzord was watching… and waiting.

-End flashback-

"You sub consciously wanted to join our side, Gold One, that's why you did it. You secretly long to be the God that you deserve to be. So why not join our side, and let these puny humans rot on this infested planet? You're too good to be around their vile ways. You can do so much better than them."

"You're wrong." Alura turned, Jason's voice snapping her out of her frightened trance. "For the record, I don't know what either of you are talking about, and I know that this Ranger may be many things, but evil is not one of them." He glared at Rita, pushing past Alura and standing defiantly in front of the witch. "This Ranger is not evil. How could he be? I've seen it with my own eyes. And trust me," he looked Rita up and down. "I know evil when I see it."

Rita smiled innocently and gave a small throaty laugh. "Jason… you haven't seen anything yet."

Her eyes flashed green as she summoned her own green Ranger energy. Jason sensed this immediately, not only because he saw it in her eyes, but because his own link with the Green Ranger Powers still remained after Tommy had given the power to him. But the power Rita was using wasn't the powers that he had used. These powers were completely evil, and nothing else.

Alura clutched her chest, the sudden arising of the powers affecting her own powers. The dragon threatened to overwhelm her, but she pushed it back. She was not letting the dragon get the better of her, not this time, not with Rita so close by.

Rita jabbed Jason in the gut with her staff and picked him up, throwing him over her shoulder and depositing him with a crunch on the concrete. Jason gasped as the air was knocked out of him and Rita put her staff to his throat.

"Join us, Gold one, or Red here dies."

"Come on Rita." The Gold Rangers grew deep and throaty. "They have a saying here on Earth." She summoned her own staff. "Children who play with fire get their fingers burned."

The Gold Ranger laughed, and it sent a chill down Jason's spine. It was the laugh of someone who was about to hurt someone and enjoy it. Little did Rita and Jason know, Alura was scaring herself half to death. She was managing to keep the Power within away, but only just. It raged in her head, like a fire which would not stop until it had destroyed all in its path. She suddenly understood how the firemen must have felt, trying to cease the spread of inevitable destruction.

The black of her armour began to be covered with some sort of aura. To both Jason and Rita's horror, it was not gold, but green.

"S- Stop…" Rita mumbled. "I swear I'll kill him…"

The Gold Ranger held out her weapon and began to run forward towards Rita. Jason, seeing a chance to get out of the way, began to wriggle out from under Rita's staff. The crescent moon shape of the staff cut his neck as he moved out. The Gold Ranger summoned energy and yelled as she collided with Rita. Light surrounded them and Jason had to cover his eyes from the unbearable brightness that was combined forces of light and dark.

As the light subsided, Jason saw Rita on the ground, her staff a safe distance away from her. She feebly held her hands up, as if surrendering or maybe protecting herself. The Gold Ranger held her own power staff at Rita's throat.

She stared into Rita's eyes, and Rita stared back, more out of stubborn fear than anything else. Slowly, the Gold Ranger lowered her staff.

"I'm not joining you because I know better." Her voice had returned to its normal masculine way. "I may have been regarded as a God by some of my own people," she offered Rita a hand to help her up. "But here I am regarded as no better than anyone else. Everyone here is equal, in one way or another. I'm not meant to be higher than anyone else here, and I won't join you because that is all you seek, and I've seen enough to know that it just isn't worth it."

Rita knocked her hand aside angrily. "You're crazy! You haven't seen these humans for what they really are. That sort of thinking will get you killed on this planet."

"Maybe," said Alura. "Maybe you have not seen what lies below the surface, Rita. On the outside, these humans are pathetic, emotional and powerless." Alura's voice softened a little, but still retained its passive tone. "But inside, they hold more power than any of us. The power of hope and friendship and love." The Gold Ranger leaned in close to Rita. "And that is why you will lose. You have none of that within; you only have what is on the outside." Alura turned her back to Rita. "You're a shell, Rita Repulsa. You, and Zedd, and Mondo and the entire United Alliance of Evil. Your all part of the same emptiness and you will all share the same hollow fate."

Rita slowly dragged herself to her feet and grabbed her staff. She shakily pointed it at Alura who turned back to her.

"Forget it." Alura walked towards Rita, showing no fear and little aggression. "I drained the remainder of your green powers from you. And in your state, I wouldn't use any magic at the moment if I were you."

Rita breathed heavily. Alura had never seen so much hatred and defeat in one person's eyes.

"Tell your 'Zeddy' that I said hi." Alura's voice became slightly predator like. "And if I see you down here again… I won't be as nice as I was this time."

Rita was about to make a half-hearted retort, but instead was picked up by a teleportation beam and carried away. Alura's power staff disappeared, and she and Jason were once again alone in the alleyway.

She breathed out heavily. That was a tough confrontation, even for one so experienced at lecturing enemies like herself.

"You alright, Jason?"

"Uh… I don't think so."

Alura suddenly whirled around to see Jason covering his neck with his hand, but she could see that he was obviously badly hurt. Blood seeped through his fingers, and his breathing was raspy. His cut was deeper than she had thought.

"Oh, shit!" Alura cursed at her own foolishness. She had actually forgotten about Jason. She reminded herself that she should get some sort of punishment for that later. "Jason I'm so sorry!" He was losing a lot of blood, and Alura suspected he'd been cut near a major artery. She ripped off one of his sleeves of his shirt and wound it tightly around his neck, but not so that It would choke him.

"Hey… my shirt…"

"I'll get you a new one."

Alura considered her options and she had no other choice.

"Jason, you're coming to the command centre with me."

"But… we can teleport…"

"Even if we could you wouldn't survive it. You're just going to have to trust me."

Jason nodded.

"Climb on my back."

Jason's eyes widened. "I'm- I'm sorry?"

"It'll make sense, and don't be scared. Climb on my back."

Jason closed his eyes for a second, out of pain and confusion, but when he opened them again, he didn't see the Gold Ranger, he saw a dragon. He gasped and moved away from it, but found himself to dizzy to move very far.

It's okay, Jason. It's me.

The Dragon stared at him, and Jason heard a female voice in his head.

Please, climb on my back; I'll take you to the command centre.

"What are you?"

I'll explain everything to you soon. Please.

Jason slowly stood, and painfully got on the dragons back, mounting its back and wrapping his strong arms around the dragon.

Hold on.

The Dragon took off, and they began to fly.