A/N: See Chapters 1, 15 and 16 for information which does not belong to me.
Ch. 23-Operation Divide and Conquer
Tuesday, May 20, 1997
Eltarian Capital City
Eltar
"I thank you all for coming," an elderly man with half reddish, half white hair, said. "The reason I have called you all here today is because things are starting to happen elsewhere...something that could change our destinies forever."
"What might that be, King Daran?" asked one of the younger Eltarian Parliament members. The man who asked the question appeared to be in his mid-30s, at a glance, and had hair as black as night.
"And what, pray tell, is going on elsewhere?" said a woman, who appeared to be in her mid-20s and had brown hair.
"That is what I am about to tell you, right now," said Daran, as he looked at the Parliament members. "I have news from one of our own, Magician Zordon."
Everyone in the Parliament quieted...as anyone who was anyone on Eltar knew of Zordon's name, and he was spoken of with much reverence.
"It seems," Daran said, "that Eltar is now not the only planet limited to a fighting force against the UAE. There is now a team of Power Rangers on Earth, where Magician Zordon currently calls home, as well."
At this, the Parliament gasped again. There hadn't been a need for Rangers in well over 10,000 years...not since Zordon had started chasing Rita around the cosmos after she'd turned his daughter evil.
"Actually, he's had them for a number of Earth years," continued Daran. "It was only recently brought to our attention because Zordon has been keeping the fact that he now has Rangers secret."
Again, Parliament gasped. Unlike on Earth, the identities of Eltar's Rangers (Sabrina included) had been widely known in the time they had attemtped to defense the planet.
"But there is more news," said Daran. "He is now not the only one of us. It seems that his daughter, the Golden Ninjetti, has returned."
"Impossible!" said an elderly councilman. "We haven't heard from her since she turned evil!"
"SILENCE!" roared the king. "Next time, Haro, don't speak unless you're spoken to!"
"Yes, sir," said the councilman.
"As I was saying," Daran said, "she has returned. Not only that, she is helping her father, his Rangers, and a host of other allies in fighting Lady Chaos and her alliance. I intend to keep myself updated."
"So that's why," Haro said, "I've been seeing all this support for the Golden Ninjetti lately. I believed she was dead or evil."
"If they win that fight," said the woman again, "the planet will come together as never before with support for her. She'd reclaim her planet-wide heroine status in a second," recalling the days of which she'd learned that thousands of years ago, the arrival of the Gold Ninjetti would signal happiness amongst her people.
"That is why I felt you should be informed," said Daran. "It would behoove us to keep updated."
Lunar Palace
Time Unknown
As the villains in the palace were planning their major sneak attack, Dulcea stayed in the shadows, and was getting concerned.
She knew that while the Rangers were resourceful and had many powerful allies at their disposal, that they would be in need of some more help. Kimberly had been growing stronger by the day, and Dulcea sensed that by graduation week, she would be unstoppable. She understood that if ever Kimberly were to wed Zedd, that the whole universe would crumble as only Zordon's daughter and the Power Rangers Turbo would stand in the way then, and not even those six would be enough to handle Kimberly's power.
They needed some more help.
8:00 a.m. local time
Angel Grove High School
Angel Grove, CA
"And you're doing this for us?" Tommy Oliver said in Mr. Caplan's office that morning, as the Rangers minus Billy were standing across from their instructors. "Leaving class when necessary in case Zedd or Rita attacks, and being able to take finals and get our diplomas early?"
"We are," said John Wilton, whom Rocky had seen a lot of, and even fought against once in battle! "It's the least we can do for you guys." These teachers of the Rangers had been teleported to the underground command base the night before, and had been briefed on the latest situation, as well as the identities of the Rangers and the deaths of the Ninjetti parents at the hands of Dark Specter himself.
"All you've done is saved our city and school at least 200 times with your daring efforts," said Mr. Caplan. "I understand that you guys don't want to be held on a pedestal because that isn't the way you operate. But you need to have some perks so you can do what you do."
"And if you need anything more, do not hesitate to tell us," said Ms. Appleby. "I'll see you in class."
2:30 p.m.
"OK, class, it's review time," said Ms. Appleby. She was teaching history, and four of the Rangers currently in her class, Tommy, Jason, Adam and Tanya were going to have a test the next day...the last one before finals.
Tommy was about to raise his hand to answer, when he saw a fleeting shadow moving on the wall near the window. He then beckoned to the other three in the class, who nodded, looked at Ms. Appleby, touched their communicators, and filed out of the room.
Once outside, Tommy addressed the other three Rangers.
"Man, I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw that," said Tommy. "I don't like this one bit."
"Me neither," said Jason. "I'm thinking my 'lil sis is up to something again."
Just then, Rocky came running up to them.
"Guys!" he said. "There's a giant wolf, and Kimberly, terrorizing campus police! We've got to do something, fast!"
Katherine came running in next.
"Guys, I just saw Gasket and Bomblinator over by the music classroom! We gotta do something!" said Kat.
Pretty soon, all the Rangers were gathered in the hallway. "We better get to Mr. Caplan, first," said Jason.
"His office is right out here. I'll go in," said Tommy as he knocked.
"Oh, hey, Tommy," said Mr. Caplan. "You have a pretty serious look on your face. What's going on?"
"Monsters, everywhere, around campus," said Tommy. "You'd better get everyone to a place of safety."
Mr. Caplan then turned and saw Master Vile right outside the window.
"By golly, you're right. I will do that. You guys morph and take care of business."
"We will," said Jason. "Stay safe."
"I'm ready too," said Billy. "I just saw this back at my lab and teleported here as quick as I could."
As Mr. Caplan activated the monster lockdown, Adam called Sabrina on his communicator and put her on standby, Tommy called David, and the Rangers then were ready for battle.
"Let's do it, guys," said Tommy. "It's Morphin Time!"
"Dragonzord!" shouted Jason.
"White Ranger Power!" shouted Tommy.
"Black Ranger Power!" shouted Adam.
"Blue Ranger Power!" shouted Billy.
"Yellow Ranger Power!" shouted Aisha.
"Red Ranger Power!" shouted Rocky.
Not long after this morphing sequence was complete, the Turbo Rangers prepared to do the same.
"Let's get em, guys," said Zack. "Shift into Turbo!"
"Mountain Blaster, Turbo Power!" shouted Trini.
"Dune Star, Turbo Power!" shouted Tanya.
"Wind Chaser, Turbo Power!" shouted Katherine.
"Red Lightning, Turbo Power!" shouted Zack.
With two teams fully morphed, the nine Rangers headed for the entrance, dodging students who were evacuating to the gymnasium as they did so.
"OK, guys, we'll split up," said Tommy. "Jason, you come with me right outside. Tanya and Kat, you two go to where Kimberly is and try to hold off her and her monster. Trini, you take Billy and go southeast. Rocky, go northeast and see what's up there. Adam, you take Aisha and go southwest. That leaves one other part..."
Just then, David teleported in.
"Perfect. David, you go northwest. If you deal with two or more monsters there, call for backup," said Tommy.
"OK, guys," said Jason. "Let's move!" With that, the Rangers rushed out the door.
OOOOOOO
"Where are those Rangers?" rasped Goldar. "They've GOT to be around here somewhere!"
"Let's go look over there," said Rygog, pointing to near a big tree.
Neither of them saw the double-punches which emanated from the White and Green Rangers, sending both villains doubling over in pain.
"You haven't found us, Goldar," said Jason. "We've found YOU!"
"And we aren't happy that you're on our school grounds," said Tommy. "I suggest you go back to the moon before we make you really unhappy!"
"The only people who are going to the moon are YOU two!" said Rygog.
Suddenly, five fish-like creatures tackled Jason to the ground. Four Tengas tried to grab Tommy, but he whirled just in time to deliver a roundhouse kick which sent all of them flying. He saw another Tenga coming his way and kicked it right into a charging Goldar. He then raced at the fish-like creatures, kicking them and freeing Jason.
Goldar stood up and glared at his archenemy.
"You'll pay for that one, White Ranger!" he snarled, unsheathing his trusty sword.
"Like I haven't heard THAT 500 times before. Either shut up or fight me, Goldilocks!" shouted Tommy as he unsheathed Saba.
"Be careful what you wish for, Tommy! This time I shall be the victor!" said Goldar as he raced at Tommy.
OOOOOOOO
Over on the east side of the school, Tanya and Kat looked in every single direction, with no luck in finding Kimberly or her newest monster.
"Man! My Turbo Navigator shows us right over their position, but I don't see them anywhere!" said Tanya.
"Don't worry. They're around here somewhere," said Kat.
Suddenly, fireballs and arrows rocked the grass in front of them, sending them staggering back. Tanya and Kat turned to see Kimberly and her monster jump straight out of a tree.
"Hahahaha! We got the 'drop' on you, Rangers!" laughed the wolf monster as he took a stance.
"I don't think so, you pathetic excuse for a lobo!" said Tanya as she unsheathed her Turbo Blade.
"Wolf Watcher's the name, and I'm gonna tear you both apart!"
"We'll see about that! Are you just gonna stand there or fight us?" said Kat.
"He'll fight you...and destroy you!" said Kimberly. "Wolf Watcher, destroy them!"
"As you wish!"
OOOOOO
"Man!" said Rocky. "Some lunatic has got to be around here somewhere!"
"Looking for a lunatic, sweetheart?" said a seductive voice directly behind him. Rocky whirled around and stared directly at Divatox, sword drawn.
"What the hell are you doing here, Divatox?" growled Rocky as he drew his sword and took a stance.
"Oh, our little princess has decided to play a little game of divide and conquer," said Divatox. "And maybe I'd like to see how the almighty Red Morphin' Ranger can handle me in a fight. You up to it?"
"Anything that keeps you from destroying the school," growled Rocky.
"Enough talk, Ranger. You want me, then fight me."
"Your move, Divatox."
OOOOOO
"Have you found them yet, Billy?" said Trini.
"Not yet. There have to be some bad guys here somewhere!"
"Looking for us, Rangers?" said a familiar voice.
Trini and Billy turned directly around to stare at Elgar and Rito.
"Rito!" said Billy.
"How very nice to see you again, Blue Ranger, or, should I say, Billy!" said Rito. "And it will be even nicer when you're in my grasp!"
"You're not taking my boyfriend anywhere, you bag of bones!" said Trini, unsheathing her Turbo Blade.
"Oh, don't worry, Trini, is it? You'll be coming with him!" said Elgar. He then beckoned to a swarm of fish-creatures and Tengas, yelling, "Piranhatrons, Tengas, get them, and don't let them get away!"
OOOOOO
David was trying to find those who were in his area, with no such luck.
"Man!" said David. "I've tried everything on my Navigator, but I can't find them! Maybe I can try something else..." he said as he fiddled with his Navigator.
Suddenly, he felt some objects land on him, followed by a series of explosions on the press of a button. He turned around to see Bomblinator and Gasket staring directly at him.
"Surprise, Ranger!" said Gasket. "All alone, aren't you?"
"We'll see about that! Turbo Thunder Cannon!" shouted David, as he summoned his Turbo Weapon and raced forward, directly at the two monsters.
OOOOOO
"Have you found my ambushers yet, girl?" said Adam, as he was on his communicator with Sabrina. "I don't see them anywhere."
"You know, this is really weird, Adam, but you're directly on top of their positioning," said the native Eltarian. "Keep looking, and I'll come back you up if necessary."
"OK. I'll keep looking," said Adam. Suddenly, a blast of pink lightning struck the ground in front of him and Aisha, sending them both flying back. They struggled to their feet, glaring at Zedd, Vile and Rita.
"Ha! You two walked right into our trap!" said Zedd.
"That you did, Power Geeks!" said Rita. "Now, it's time for you to suffer!"
"We'll see about that, Rita!" said Adam.
"That we will, vile creatures!" shouted a voice, belonging to Ninjor.
"Not you again!" growled Vile. "You two get the Rangers. I'm going to fight Ninjor myself!"
As Vile and Ninjor prepared to duel, Adam came face to face with his girlfriend's former tormentor, an angry expression developing on his face. Zedd, meanwhile, took on Aisha.
"I'm going to enjoy having your friend suffer as I destroy you myself, Black Ranger!" said Rita, brandishing her wand.
"Tough talk from a sorceress who has never, ever beaten us!" said Adam, drawing his Power Axe. "Either stand there or fight me!"
"You want a fight, Black Ranger, well, you're going to get the fight of your life!" said Rita as she rushed forward with her wand.
OOOOOO
Jason was having fun with Rygog. He'd been able to scout most of the henchmen such as Rygog while he'd played spy in the palace, and now was using it against henchmen like Rygog, whom he was just bamboozling at the moment.
In desperation, Rygog fired his skull blasts at Jason, but with a tune from his Dragon Dagger, he activated a shield which sent all of them back at Rygog.
Meanwhile, Tommy and Goldar continued to exchange sword strokes, and insults...the two heated rivals very evenly matched in both regards. Every time Tommy would get the upper hand, Goldar would find a way to even it up again.
"Your end is near, Tommy!" rasped Goldar as he launched fire from his sword, which Tommy rolled out of the way of.
The only response Goldar got to his ramblings was a kick to his chest.
OOOOOO
While Pink Rangers past and present dueled, Tanya wasn't have a whole lot of luck with Wolf Watcher.
Fifteen seconds into their fight, razor-sharp fangs came flying out of Wolf Watcher's mouth, slicing Tanya's protective armor and ripping apart her Turbo Blade...which left her defenseless.
Kimberly laughed as she approached Tanya. Kat tried to get to Tanya, but Wolf Watcher kicked her in the shin, sending her flying into a tree.
"All right, Yellow Ranger. It's time for a trip to the moon!" said Kimberly.
Suddenly, five golden blasts rained down on both villains, sending them flying back. The two villains and two Rangers turned to see Sabrina, fully morphed and sword drawn.
"You're not taking my friends anywhere!" growled Sabrina as she pointed her sword directly at Kimberly.
"Why, you miserable Eltarian!" shouted Wolf Watcher. "You'll pay for that!"
Wolf Watcher shot fireballs from his head, which the Gold Ninjetti rolled out of the way of. She then raced at the two villains, kicking them both in their legs and knocking them down. She then raced over to tend to Tanya.
OOOOOO
Trini and Billy had disposed of both the Tengas and Piranhatrons, and now both were fighting Elgar and Rito.
Elgar was totally bamboozled by the Blue Turbo Ranger.
Elgar had little fighting skills to begin with, and, plus, he was going against someone who was trained in Chinese martial arts, most notably Kung Fu.
"Ha! I can't believe Divatox actually calls you a henchman!" Trini laughed as she slapped him with her hand blasters. "I expect better, Elgar."
The only thing Elgar could think to do was race at her again, but Trini spun out of the way, and then spun around again to kick him in his shin.
"Like I said, this is pathetic. I expect better," said Trini.
Meanwhile, Billy and Rito, having been familiar with each other, were staging a pretty good fight. Rito fired an energy blast from his hand, but Billy rolled out of the way, charged at Rito, and clanged his Power Lance against Rito's sword.
OOOOOO
Neither Divatox nor Rocky had gained an upper hand in their battle.
Divatox was a formidable opponent, but she hadn't counted on Rocky faring this well against her. Every move she made with her sword, Rocky would strike back with his Power Sword or Blade Blaster, and Divatox wasn't truly comfortable yet.
As Rocky rolled out of the way of Divatox's eyeblasts, Divatox wondered, 'What do we have to do to get rid of these idiots? They're near impossible to beat.'
She put that in the back of her mind as Rocky charged at her again.
OOOOOO
David had been joined by Auric during his fight with Gasket and Bomblinator, and now, the four were going at it in earnest. Archerina had thought about going out into the fight, but Auric decided to save her the pain of fighting her ex.
As Auric and Gasket clanged weapons, Gasket wondered about this himself. His ex was pure good; he was pure evil, and yet, she still never cared for facing him alone, and in some ways, he felt the same. Oh, he wanted her destroyed, but he didn't want to be the one to do it.
"Prepare to die, Auric!" said Gasket as he slammed his sword against Auric's cape.
"Not as long as the forces of good are standing!" said Auric as he charged his own sword with energy and slammed it into Gasket, sending King Mondo's son flying backwards.
Gasket got up and charged at Auric again, while David blasted Bomblinator with the Thunder Cannon, sending him reeling.
OOOOOO
By this point in her fight, Rita was enraged, and Adam was laughing at her.
She was the daughter of a feared warlord, and had been the Rangers' first and foremost enemy, and yet here she was, being thrown around the schoolyard by a mere human. Adam had channeled his anger of how she'd corrupted his girlfriend in a positive way. She'd tried many different spells against him, including a freeze spell, a heat spell which could have burnt him to a crisp, as well as others, and yet he'd shrugged it off as if to say, 'Is that all you've got, seriously?'
"You are truly helpless against me, Rita," said Adam. "If this is the best you can do, I'd hate to see your worst!"
Vile wasn't doing much better against Ninjor. As well as his Globbor monster had fared against the Ninja Master, he was having no such luck.
Vile, too, had tried many different things against his opponent, but Ninjor had grown stronger during the fight, and had shrugged much of it off.
"What do I have to do to defeat you, Ninjor?" growled Vile.
"You have to kill us to beat us, Vile! I'd think you've learned that by now!"
Zedd wasn't doing much better against Aisha, as Aisha had used her mixed karate skills to easily outmaneuver the Emperor of Evil's attacks.
OOOOOO
Sabrina had helped turn the tide of the battle with her and Kat vs. Kimberly and Wolf Watcher, and Kimberly could see this was not going to end well.
After whispering a few words to Wolf Watcher, she sent out a mental summons to her warriors.
"OK, Rangers, you win this time," said Kimberly. "But I shall return, and next time, you shall not be so lucky!"
With that, Kimberly vanished.
"Yes!" said Sabrina, as she high-fived Katherine. "We did it!"
"We did...for today," said Kat. "Still a lot to be done, but overall, I'm pleased."
OOOOOO
"Haha! It's just the same as it ever was, Goldar!" said Tommy as he stood over his archrival, a triumphant smirk on his face after he'd blasted Goldar with Saba's eye blasts. "I'm still too fast, and you're still too slow!"
Goldar pulled himself to his feet, looked at Rygog, and then glared at the two best friends, Tommy and Jason.
"This is not over, runty Rangers! We'll be back, and next time you will not be so fortunate!" Goldar rasped, as he vanished with Rygog.
"Goodness!" said Jason. "Only one time back in the spandex, and that was pretty tough!"
"Never mind that, Jase. Let's keep our ears open for any trouble," said Tommy.
OOOOOO
"Elgar, it's no use. We're not going to beat these Power Dweebs today," said Rito after he'd stumbled back from one of Billy's Power Lance slashes. "It's time to head back to the moon and regroup."
"I agree," said Elgar. "We're outta here!"
With that, the two henchmorons disappeared.
"Trini," said Billy, "I think those two morons are giving me way too many displeasing memories of Bulk and Skull."
"You mean...they remind you of Bulk and Skull too much."
"Exactly," said Billy. "Let's wait to see if there's any trouble that pops up."
OOOOOO
Divatox, frustrated that she couldn't outsmart this young Red Ranger, stepped back after receiving her mental summons, and glared at Rocky.
"OK, sweetheart, you win this time," said Divatox. "But I will be back. Viva la Diva!"
With that, the lady pirate disappeared, at which Rocky took a deep breath.
"Man, she is one crazy lady," Rocky muttered. "How in the world does Maligore put up with her?"
Rocky then stood guard in his sector, making sure no other evils came through his area.
OOOOOO
Following another blast from Auric's sword and Kimberly's mental summons, Gasket and Bomblinator stepped back to where the Rangers couldn't press them.
"You have won this fight today, do-gooders, but Prince Gasket of the Machine Empire will prevail one day!"
"Indeed! We'll be back!" said Bomblinator as the two disappeared.
"Yes!" said Auric. "Auric the Conqueror sends evil packing with its tails between its legs...again!"
"Auric, please, could you stop with the self-promotion?" said David.
"Sorry, young one. I...will try to contain myself."
OOOOOO
Zedd, Vile and Rita were not too happy with Kimberly calling them back. Although neither had fared well against his or her opponent, they felt the tide could change.
Nevertheless, they stepped back and prepared to return.
"Blast, Power Rangers!" said Zedd. "You have prevailed again. But next time, you will be ours!"
With that, the three henchmen disappeared.
"Congratulations, Rangers!" said Ninjor. "We have done it again!"
"Indeed we have, Ninjor," said Adam.
"I just got off the communicator with Tommy," said Aisha. "He wants us all to meet where he and Jason are."
"Well, let's go then," said Adam.
OOOOOO
"Great job, all of you," said Tommy. "We somehow live to fight another day."
"We did, bro," said Jason. "And we do live to fight another day. You did really well against Goldar."
"Yeah, well, he's full of hot air," said Tommy. "I better go inside and tell Mr. Caplan that he can take the alert off."
15 minutes later, Tommy returned.
"He released the students, and school's out," said Tommy. We better get to the Underground Chamber."
"Right," said Ninjor. "Let's go."
Lunar Palace
Unknown Time
"I don't understand!" shouted Kimberly. "The more we divide them up, the tougher they become to deal with!"
"Welcome to our world, Kimberly," muttered Zedd, who was becoming more convinced than ever that him marrying Kimberly and simply revoking the Ninjetti powers was the only way that anyone was going to defeat these Rangers.
"I, too, am sick of these brats," said Vile, "and yet I can see why you had so much trouble defeating them. They are tough. That Black Ranger took on Rita all by himself."
"And of course, that brat called the White Ranger kicked my rump all over the school!" said Goldar. "I have had it with that Power Brat!"
"I just think we all need to go back to the drawing board. I certainly don't know what to do about them right now," said Kimberly as she left the room.
"Don't we all," muttered Vile.
3:30 p.m.
Underground Power Chamber
Angel Grove, CA
"ONCE AGAIN, YOU MAKE ME PROUD, RANGERS," said Zordon.
"Thanks, Zordon," said Tommy. "We do what we can."
"I gotta tell you guys," said Ninjor, "it was comical seeing Adam tossing Rita all over the school."
"Adam took on Rita all by himself?" said Tommy and Sabrina simultaneously.
"Who'd have known that our shy frog would be the one to thrash Rita?" said Jason.
"Man, I'm proud of you, Adam," said Sabrina. "Rita's tough, and it takes a great effort to beat her. You did a good job today."
"Thanks," said Adam as he pecked a kiss on her cheek. "How's Tanya?"
"She is improving, Adam," said Archerina, who had been working on getting her better. "I don't know when she will come around, but she didn't lose that much blood, and I should be able to fix her suit in no time."
"I think we should all get home, but I think we should stay together as much as possible. With the recent deaths in the family, who knows what will come next?" said Tommy.
"Agreed, Tommy," said Alpha. "For what it's worth, all of you can stay in quarters here if you wish."
Tommy nodded, then all the Rangers disappeared, heading for their homes in flashes of colored light, knowing that their biggest battle was yet to come.
TBC...