A/N: You know the drill. I don't own em, except Lady Chaos.
Ch. 9-Unexpected Allies, Showdown Begins
Monday, April 7
9:00 p.m. local time
Sabrina's Residence
Lakeland, FL
"So, have you thought about how you're going to fight Lady Chaos?" said Kimberly Hart.
"Well, Beautiful, I'm just glad I have my White Ranger Powers back, as well as Saba, back," said Tommy Oliver, Kimberly's boyfriend, referring to 1 hour ago, when Sabrina, Dulcea and Ninjor had combined to reawaken his Ninjetti spirit animal, the White Falcon, and had given him a new power coin that Sabrina had used her Morphing Grid technology to construct.
"I feel the White Ranger powers give me the best chance of winning," said Tommy. "While I enjoyed being red like Jason was, and is, I feel much more suited in my White Ranger outfit, and I will need Saba in this fight."
"I'm glad to have you back too, White Ranger," said a British sounding voice.
"SABA!" yelled Kimberly. "You can come, even when Tommy isn't morphed?"
"It is good to see you too, Pink Crane," said the sentient saber. "I, like Tommy, had certain feelings about you. I was crushed when I heard you left the team. Katherine is a good Power Ranger, but I think you were far better. And yes, I can appear when Tommy is not morphed. I'm glad I'm back too…and if it isn't that vile creature Lady Chaos!"
"Tell me about it. When this fight is over, Kimberly will still be mine," said Tommy.
Moon Palace
"Ah, but that is where you are wrong, little Tommy, because I have some tricks up my sleeve," said Lady Chaos.
Suddenly, Goldar entered the room and bowed his head before the woman.
"What do you have to report, Goldar?" Lady Chaos said. She'd instructed Goldar minutes before to go to the palace dungeon to check on Adam.
"Our prisoner is fine, Lady Chaos," said Goldar. "He's worried about what we'll do to him, but other than that, he's fine."
"Excellent," smirked Chaos. "Now, I can turn my full attention to capturing that pathetic former Pink Ranger."
Immediately, she began to call one of her pawns, as well as her uncle, Ivan Ooze.
Unknown Place and Time
"I must help them, and try to rescue Adam!" said a robotic voice belonging to a pink figure with a bow.
"Now that you are back with me and no longer with that idiot Gasket, as you should be, it is your duty to serve the forces of good. Go, and may the light be with you, daughter,"
"As you wish, father," she said as she teleported away to the Moon Palace in a flash of pink.
Moon Palace Dungeon
Adam was still in deep thought, about many things.
He wondered first about his friends at home in Angel Grove. Adam knew that the Rangers were more than capable of handling most monster attacks, but this Lady Chaos creature had really opened his eyes to how truly evil one could really be.
It made him nervous, knowing he was not there with them all.
He was also wondering if he'd truly made the right decision to give up his Zeo IV powers. He had no doubt that his mentor had found someone else, but he felt something was missing.
He was thinking about all that when he heard a whooshing sound, and then saw a pink teleportation blur inside his cell. He knew it was next to impossible for a Ranger to teleport into his cell due to the palace shielding, so it must be…
"Archerina?" he said in surprise. He was even more surprised when he saw she didn't have her typical archer's bow in attack position, or Gasket by her side. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Relax, Zeo Ranger," said the former Machine Princess quietly. "I'm not here to hurt you...I'm here to help. If you were in danger, my ex would be here right now brandishing his sword at you. I also wouldn't be here unless your enemies were sound asleep."
"Ex…husband? You mean you and Gasket broke up?" said the Green Ranger softly. For whatever reason, he was feeling much more comfortable that the Machine Princess was not going to hurt him as opposed to a week earlier, when he'd had his temper tantrum about Sabrina in the Power Chamber.
"In a word, yes," said Archerina. "I now realize what a grave mistake I made by doing it. It came back to me after we almost brainwashed Tommy, and I've been looking for a way out ever since. I'm lucky my father, Aradon, took me back after I divorced Gasket. I don't think he's going to be so lucky when Mondo is rebuilt. That, in essence, is the difference between the side of good, and the side of evil, both of which I have been on. The side of good is much more forgiving when one turns evil than vice-versa."
"You mean, you were a princess of GOOD?" said Adam, who was shocked that a former wife of such an evil warrior could have good in her heart.
"I was and now am once again, Ranger," said Archerina as she began her tale. "My father, Aradon, who has detested Mondo and his evil Machine Empire from day one, is good friends with your mentor, Zordon of Eltar and has been for thousands of years as well as King Lexian of Edenoi, and loved the idea of the Alphas," said the Machine Princess. Adam nodded at this; he remembered recent times, right before the incident with Ooze when he and the rest of the Rangers minus Kimberly went to Edenoi to help the Masked Rider fight off Count Dregon, and he'd heard more about Lexian.
"Your father and Zordon know each other?" said Adam.
"Ranger, as your friend Auric the Conqueror once said, all who are or have been pure of heart know the name of Zordon, as does my father," said the former Machine Princess.
"He was intrigued by the idea of a sentient robot with a mind of its own. That was his goal when he created me…but he had one further goal…he intended for me to fight for the forces of good for all time instead of being a technological genius like your own Alpha is. It was his idea to turn the idea of a machine against his evil enemy, the Machine Empire."
"What changed all that?" said Adam.
"It was the day Sabrina became Scorpina," said Archerina. "Since my father is good friends with Zordon and his wife, Sarah, who is still an Eltarian sorceress, we were together a lot, and Sabrina and I became good friends even though she lived with Dulcea and Ninjor. When I found out she was captured, my heart sunk. All the while, we were in the middle of constant battle with the Machine Empire, and Gasket always noticed how down I was," she said.
He then began setting the bait that forged our relationship or what was our relationship. My father warned me not to fall into the trap, and Mondo warned Gasket that if he ever married me, he was disowned on the spot. But Gasket had an idea to use my vulnerability to his advantage, and as compared to his father, Gasket is very militaristic and stubborn. He appealed to my feelings, being the only one to ever listen to me," said Archerina, who was now crying. Adam, at this point, knew he was now wrong in everything he had done in the recent week, and needed someone to hug as well.
"He then managed to infuse me with evil energy, and thus, our 'love' was bound," finished Archerina. "You know the rest."
"So what's the real reason you're here?" said Adam. "You wouldn't be here if it wasn't important."
At this, Archerina laughed softly so as not to wake the villains. She'd always perceived Adam as the smartest of the Zeo Rangers, and she hadn't been disappointed.
"I'm here because I know what they're going to do to you, Adam Park," said the former Machine Princess. "They're going to try to make you their new Evil Green Ranger, and I'm going to do my best to stop them. Your friends don't know you're here because they had to fight one of Finster's monsters."
At this, Adam was shocked and horrified, and his face turned pale. The thought of having to do all those things that Jason told him about what happened to Tommy…and the actions with the Dragonzord and Sword of Darkness in particular did not appeal to him.
"How in the world could they have gone back in time to get that coin? Impossible!" said Adam.
"I couldn't tell you. I just know that they did it," said Archerina.
"Can you stop them?" said Adam hopefully.
"I can stop them, yes. Will I? I'm not sure. They're going to do everything they can to make you their Ranger. They're going after your friend Kimberly too." Adam paled then too.
"Is it possible to change the frequency so I can talk to the Power Chamber?"
"It's possible, but I'll need your communicator to break through the shield," said the Machine Princess, who then stopped abruptly. "I hear footsteps! Someone's coming! My circuits say it's Goldar! They must have kept him up on the night-shift!"
"He's probably here to taunt me. Here's my communicator," said Adam as he handed her his wrist device quickly. "Can you go invisible?"
"Of course I can. When Goldar's out, give me word," she said as she disappeared mere seconds before Goldar opened the door.
As Goldar walked into the cell in all his audacious glory, he noticed a stark change in the former Ranger from a few hours earlier. Whereas a few hours earlier Adam felt sick, it looked like Adam was more ready for a fight now.
"Have a little jump in your step, Ranger?" said the Titan as he walked to stand in front of the young Korean, who was at this point glaring daggers into Goldar's eyes, unfazed by the arrogance Goldar was displaying.
"Bring it on, monkey-for-brains," said Adam. "You're too slow to defeat me. I defeated you before, and I can do so again unless you cut out your arrogance. You're not such a big deal anymore."
"I shall torture you for that comment, Ranger!" roared Goldar as he charged forward, bringing his sword at where Adam was, only to hit nothing but cold air.
"Haha, missed me!" said Adam, who had swung under the sword and nimbly backwards. Goldar turned and charged again, but Adam simply did the same thing, veering to the right at the last minute. Angered even more, Goldar tried to leap through the air, but was met by swift punches and kicks from the former Ranger. Goldar was sent flying to the ground, and lost his sword in the process.
"There goes your sword, Goldar," said Adam as he stomped his foot on Goldar's blade. "Now, would you like to go a second round?"
Goldar stumbled to his feet, absolutely embarrassed that he'd been humiliated by another human in one-on-one combat, especially since this human, who was unmorphed, barely had enough spirit three hours ago to crush an ant!
"I'll get you for this round, Ranger, if it's the last thing I EVER do!" roared Goldar as he stumbled to the door.
"Is that all you ever say, you golden buffoon?" said Adam. "Oh, and take that with you!" as he shoved Goldar's sword forward with his foot. Goldar quickly grabbed it and headed out of the cell.
"OK, Archerina. You may come out now," said Adam as the former Machine Princess reappeared.
"That was very impressive indeed, Adam. Very rarely has anyone besides Tommy defeated Goldar like that unmorphed," said Archerina. "And I have a little surprise for you. I was able to re-route the frequency on your communicator. You should be able to reach the Power Chamber to let them know what's going on."
"YES!" said Adam excitedly as he took his communicator from his former enemy. "Thank you, Archerina. I don't know how I'd be without your arrival."
"Don't mention it. It's time to let your friends know what's going on. And keep the conversation short. If I know my ex, he may be listening in to your conversation. I may be free, but he'll always be evil."
Slowly, Adam lifted his communicator, and pressed a button.
8:00 p.m.
Power Chamber
Alpha 5 and Ninjor were running security checks on the communication system, when suddenly Alpha jumped with a start.
"I'm getting a signal from…the Lunar Palace? That can't possibly be!" said the robot.
Then, a voice came through the communications system. "Adam to the Power Chamber, come in. Adam to the Power Chamber, come in."
"Aye-yi-yi, Adam! What in the world are you doing in Rita and Zedd's palace?"
"Long story, but the short version is that Goldar and Rito nabbed me in the park earlier this afternoon while the Rangers went off to fight a monster. I've been getting some help I normally wouldn't expect up here. You've gotta get me out of here before they turn me against you. They want me as the next Evil Green Ranger."
At that, Zordon of Eltar shivered.
"RITA AND ZEDD HAVE RETRIEVED THE GREEN POWER COIN? THIS IS VERY BAD INDEED," said Adam's former mentor, who shuddered at the thoughts of someone else with the Sword of Darkness and piloting the mighty Dragonzord. "WHO HAS BEEN HELPING YOU?"
"Would you believe me if I said Archerina?" said Adam. "She's divorced Gasket and returned to her roots. She also told me about her relationship with Sabrina, and I'm willing to forgive her too if you guys can get me out of here."
"I AM GLAD TO SEE THAT ARCHERINA HAS RETURNED TO THE SIDE OF LIGHT," said Zordon. "I SHALL ATTEMPT TO MOUNT A RESCUE MISSION."
"Make it quick. You have probably no more than 36 hours before my mind's going to start becoming evil. I gotta cut this short, as I fear certain evil alien beings are listening right now."
"WE SHALL TRY OUR BEST. BE SAFE, ADAM, AND MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU."
After the frequency was cut, Ninjor spoke up.
"It's time to call the Rangers, Zordon," said the ancient master ninja. "They will want to hear about this."
"I AGREE, IT'S TIME TO START MAKING RESCUE PLANS," said the old wizard as Ninjor began to start making contact.
Unknown Time
Machine Empire Colony
"That blasted ex of mine!" shouted Gasket, who had watched every development of the saga from its very beginnings. "Well, I'm going to make her pay for this. NO ONE double-crosses the Machine Empire and gets away with it. Rita and Zedd will want to hear about this!" said the Machine Prince as he teleported to his ship and prepared to leave for Rita and Zedd's palace.
8:15 p.m.
Scott Residence
Angel Grove, CA
"Man, talk about an ass-load of homework. Ms. Appleby can be so annoying sometimes," said Jason as he attempted to plow through his piles of homework. Suddenly, his communicator beeped.
"Jason here," said the Red Ranger.
"JASON, I NEED YOU IN THE POWER CHAMBER IMMEDIATELY. THE OTHERS ARE ON THEIR WAY. WE HAVE NEWS ABOUT ADAM, AND IT IS NOT GOOD," said Zordon.
"I'll be right there," said Jason as he teleported out in a streak of red.
"What's going on guys?" said Jason. "And where is Adam?"
"THIS IS A RECORDED CONVERSATION JUST MOMENTS AGO BETWEEN ADAM AND THE POWER CHAMBER," said Zordon.
10 minutes later, when it was finished, everyone stood in shock.
"No way. That's impossible. Tommy told me that the Green Coin was sent back in time," said Jason, shivering at the thought of seeing the Green Ranger with the Sword of Darkness and Dragonzord again. There was no way he was going to let another one fall to the side of evil if he could help it.
"At least we no longer have Archerina to worry about. Is Gasket still out there?" said Tanya.
"I CANNOT BE FOR CERTAIN, TANYA, BUT IF HE IS, HE COULD BECOME DANGEROUS AND JOIN LADY CHAOS' ALLIANCE," which made Jason shiver as he knew how tough a fighter Gasket could be.
Then, Trini spoke up.
"Ms. Appleby's been worried about him. Maybe it's time we get her and Mr. Caplan in here, and let them both know what's going on."
"I agree. We've got to do anything to get him back," said Tanya Sloan, with obvious bias since she and Adam were in a very close relationship.
"ALPHA, PLEASE TELEPORT THEM BOTH HERE IMMEDIATELY. MY SENSORS SHOW THAT TREY IS ON HIS WAY IN PYRAMIDAS."
Seconds later, two flashes of white light appeared in the Power Chamber, revealing the astonished faces of the Rangers' favorite teacher and Angel Grove High's principal.
"This…is incredible," said Mary Appleby. "Where…are we?"
"MARY, FEAR NOT. YOU ARE IN THE POWER CHAMBER, THE HEADQUARTERS FOR THE POWER RANGERS ZEO. I AM ZORDON OF ELTAR, MENTOR TO THE RANGERS."
"This…is incredible…" said Mr. Caplan. "We've been helping out the Rangers, but I could never have imagined seeing inside your headquarters."
"YOU ARE HERE BECAUSE ADAM HAS BEEN CAPTURED BY THE RANGERS LATEST ENEMY, AND WE FELT IT WAS YOUR DUTY TO KNOW."
"What happened to him? Is he OK?" said Ms. Appleby.
"Ms. Appleby, Goldar and Rito took off with him while we were busy fighting one of Rita's monsters," said Jason. "They're trying to make him into the latest evil Green Ranger." At this, the two main instructors of Angel Grove High let out a gasp. They vividly remembered the havoc that the Green Ranger had caused to Angel Grove, and hoped they'd never see it again.
"Where's Kimberly? Is she all right?" said Mr. Caplan.
"SHE IS FINE. TOMMY, ROCKY, BILLY, AND AISHA ARE WITH HER IN FLORIDA."
"Good. Please keep us posted on the situation. I think we should both be getting back now as our spouses are probably worried about us," said Mr. Caplan. "Thank you for entrusting us with your secret."
"Teleporting now," said Alpha as the two vanished in streaks of white light.
"I think we should all go home and get some rest," said Jason. "Tomorrow, we'll meet back here after lunch to devise a plan to free Adam."
Lunar Palace
Unknown Time
"It is almost time," said Lady Chaos. "Now, we get to find out how good that do-gooder Tommy really is."
"Good luck, grandmother, and may the forces of evil be with you against my wayward Ranger," said Rita. "Show him no mercy!"
Tuesday, April 8
10:30 a.m.
Sabrina's Residence
Lakeland, FL
"She's just shown up," said Tommy, who then received hugs from both Kimberly and Sabrina. "I better go out and face her."
"May the Power protect you, White Falcon," said Dulcea as Tommy raced out the door to meet his opponent.
"Ah, Tommy, punctual as ever," said Lady Chaos. "Now, why don't we take this someplace less crowded?" she said, and instantly, they were on the deserted Gulf of Mexico beaches.
"Now, sugar, what is it you say in your world…let's get it on?" said Lady Chaos.
"Indeed. I will never let scum like you take my Princess. IT'S MORPHIN TIME! WHITE RANGER POWER!" said Tommy, and for the first time in months, he stood in his White Ranger outfit, ready to fight. He then drew Saba as the two fighters encircled, waiting for the other to make a move.
Finally, Lady Chaos lashed out at Tommy, and the fight had begun.