Chapter 6
"Please tell me that was just a normal earthquake and not another alien force attacking the earth?" Shane asked as soon as he arrived at Ninja Ops.
"I wish I could give you an answer but I can't find anything on the satellites'," Cam replied. As soon as he felt the tremor, he rushed to the super computer and dismissed Cyber Cam from his seat. Cam was now furiously tapping at his keyboard, trying to find some answers. "I can't anything whether it was natural or otherwise."
"I'm telling you bro, I thought I saw something earlier," Cyber Cam pointed towards the screen. "There was a blip for like a millisecond dude and then, poof, it was gone like there was nothing there in the first place."
"Are you sure you're not malfunctioning?" Dustin asked. He didn't seem pleased that he had to get up in the middle of the night to find out that they couldn't find anything. He knew it wasn't his friends fault, but it didn't mean he had to like the situation.
Cyber Cam folded his arms as he looked at Dustin. "I'm working fine dude." He looked back at the computer screen. His eyes widening as the computer beeped. "Hey did you just see that?"
"I did," Sensei answered nodding his head.
"Me too," replied Cam. "That doesn't look good." Cam brought up a satellite picture of Athens before the computer beeped again and again. "Athens, Christchurch and Nagasaki all are being attacked at the same time."
"Whoa hold on. Are those people attacking the rangers over there?" Hunter asked shocked at what he was seeing.
Cam brought up the picture of Nagasaki. "You're right. Look, the rangers are having to retreat."
"What's going on?" Tori asked
"Yeah, since when do people attack power rangers? We're the good guys protecting them. Hey do you think..." Whatever Dustin was about to say next was cut off by the computer alert going off again.
"It looks like we're on. An alien just landed here in Blue Bay Harbour. More specifically it landed at the track." Cam took his glasses off and pocketed them before standing up and moving away from the computer. Cyber Cam immediately took the vacated seat, not needing to be asked.
"Here we go again," Dustin said as he ran his fingers over his morpher. In his mind he was wondering when Power Rangers could actually retire and if Aliens would ever stop trying to take over the earth.
It wasn't long before the rangers ninja streaked out of ninja ops and towards the race track. When they arrived, Dustin took in his surroundings. "I thought you said the alien was here?"
"It was," Cam looked around.
"Fan out," Shane instructed. "But make sure you've got a partner. It's got to be here somewhere."
Shane partnered with Tori, while Hunter went with Cam and Simone went with Dustin. Seeing Hunter and Simone walk off without each other didn't go unnoticed by Shane. He made a mental note of asking them about later.
"Cam are you sure the alien is still here?" Hunter asked. "It might have moved on to somewhere else."
Cam shook his head. "Cyber Cam would've said if it had gone somewhere else. It's still here, somewhere."
"So what is it waiting for? Why doesn't it attack?"
Cam shrugged. "I wish I knew." He hated not knowing what to expect.
"It's too quiet round here. I think the alien bailed." Shane looked behind him when he thought he heard a noise. Putting down to an over active imagination, he walked on.
"It's not like aliens to bail before a fight."
"Unless it wasn't looking for a fight."
Tori smirked. "Why else would it be here Shane?"
Shane shrugged. "Maybe it's into motocross," he joked.
Dustin glanced at Simone, all the while keeping his wits about him. "Hey, you were quiet back at ninja ops. You ok?"
"Yeah I'm fine. It's just, you know, another alien attack." Simone let herself smile slightly. "Just as this place was getting peaceful. Should've known it wouldn't last long."
"Don't I know it." Dustin shook his head. "First the school gets attacked by Lothor, then after he's defeated, it gets quiet round here and he surfaces again and attacks the school once again."
"Didn't you help that time?"
"Hey, that wasn't my fault. Lothor gave us evil powers. We couldn't help it." Dustin scratched his head. "Anyway, as I was saying...what was I saying?"
Simone laughed. "Don't worry about it Dustin. I know what happened the third time Blue Bay Harbour got attacked and it involved Lothor again, although it wasn't his fault."
"Yeah, then that guardian guy Gabriel tried to mess with us. You know the last two attacks involved you."
"Trouble seems to follow me doesn't it?" Simone joked.
"At least this time the alien doesn't have anything to do with us."
"That's what you think," a voice echoed out. "The end is near Power Rangers." One of Meta's manufactured aliens' materialised seemingly out of nowhere.
Dustin and Simone took up a fighting stance, ready for any attack.
"Ready to be destroyed rangers?"
"I don't think so," Dustin stood up straight. "Ready?"
"Ready," Simone replied.
"Ninja Storm," "Lightning storm," "Ranger form, ha." In an instant Dustin and Simone had changed into the yellow wind ranger and the pink lightning ranger respectively.
"Yellow and pink. My least favourite colours," the alien sneered.
"Well sorry to disappoint, dude but you're gonna have to deal with it." Dustin put his arm up to block the aliens attack while Simone kicked it away. Dustin lifted his arm while he had the chance and called the other rangers. "Hey, guys. We found the alien."
"Hold on Dustin, we'll be right there," came the answer from Shane.
After falling back slightly from Simone's kick, the alien lifted up his hands and stretched them out towards the two rangers. "Time for a group hug." A magnetic force seemed to come from his hands and pull the two rangers towards him. Once he had them in his grip, thorns poked out from his body, hitting the rangers with an electrical current.
Flying backwards Dustin and Simone landed on the ground three metres from the alien.
"Ahhh that stung." Dustin tried to get up, but he had a slight problem. In fact it was a major problem. "I can't move. Why can't I move? Simone, are you alright, can you get up?"
"No. I can't even move my fingers."
Another alien materialised beside the rangers. She addressed the previous alien, "Surge, go and take care of the other rangers. I'll deal with these test subjects."
"Hey, we're nobody's test subject," Dustin shouted out. His frustration of not being able to move was escalating.
"What did that freak show do to us?" Simone asked as she willed her body to move
"It'll wear off after a while. I just need you to hold still for a little while. I've never used this on a ranger before." Meta aimed what looked like a small canon at them. "This may hurt a little bit." As Meta fired the device a white beam hit the rangers simultaneously causing them to yell out.
"Look there it is." Shane announced pointing towards the alien.
Surge rubbed his hands together. "I was looking for you."
"Well unfortunately for you, you found us," Hunter replied as he rushed forward to attack. He was soon joined by Shane, Tori and Cam.
"Where are our friends?" Tori asked as she dodged the alien's feet.
"You can join them if you want." Surge held out his hands, shooting a few thorns out. One hit Tori on her left shoulder, while the others hit the trees behind her.
Tori spun and hit the ground, all the while holding her shoulder. "I can't move my arm."
"Hawk blaster." Shane aimed his weapon at Surge and fired.
"Tori, are you alright?" Hunter asked as he helped her up.
"My arm feels numb. I can barely move it."
"Tori sit this fight out and go and find Dustin and Simone," Shane ordered.
"Right," Tori answered. She hated giving up a fight, but she knew that Shane was right. She was in no condition at the moment to fight and she needed to find the others. Heading away from the others, she noticed a white glow over the hill. "Hey, what's that?" Tori asked herself quietly. With the feeling that something wasn't right, she quickened her pace and headed towards the anomaly.
Dustin gritted his teeth against the pain in his head, wishing it would stop. Slowly, but surely his fists clenched. 'I can move,' he thought. 'Now if only I can use my Lion hammer.'
"Sonic fin," Tori called out when she arrived. It didn't take her long after seeing her friends in trouble. As she used it on Meta, the white beam disappeared. "No-one messes with my friends. Ninja sword."
Getting up and seeing blue ranger run towards her, Meta pressed a button on her arm and transported back to her ship.
Tori ran to the fallen rangers and powered down. Noting that her arm felt better albeit tingly, she helped Dustin and Simone up. "Hey are you guys alright?"
"Tori," Dustin tried to rub his head but felt something was stopping him. Something hard was encasing his whole head, like a helmet. "What's going on? And what am I doing at the track?" Dustin looked towards Simone. "Whoa, a pink power ranger."
"Where?" Simone asked looking behind her.
"You," Dustin replied. For the first time since he got up, Dustin noticed what he was wearing. "No way. I'm a yellow power ranger? This is so cool." He pointed at Tori "And you said that there were no such things as power rangers. Well I guess no-one's laughing at the comic book geek now are they?" Dustin exclaimed, repeating what he said the first time he ever morphed.
Simone felt confused. "How comes I'm dressed like a power ranger? Who are you two and where am I?"
"Oh boy," Tori lifted her arm. "Sensei, we have a problem. A big problem. You better get Cyber Cam to teleport us back to Ninja ops."
Ninja ops
"Are you telling me that they don't remember becoming power rangers and the history we've got together?" Tori put her hands on her hips in disbelief.
"You are correct Tori." Sensei Watanabe walked out of the infirmary and allowed the door to close behind him. "The last thing Dustin remembers is being on his way to school with you and Shane and stopping to help an elderly couple fix their vehicle."
"Wait that was the day Lothor attacked the school. What about Simone, what does she remember?"
"Talking to her brother about being in the lightning storm academy. Apparently he was very...or rather over protective of her."
"Why would that alien wipe their memories of being power rangers?"
"I can answer that one," Cyber Cam turned his seat to face Kanoi and Tori. "Remember when we saw those people attacking the power rangers in Nagasaki, well I've read reports that a white glow emanated from an area around there before all the peeps went stir crazy. You saw a white glow Tor."
Tori nodded. "Yeah. The alien was firing a white beam. Are you saying that Dustin and Simone could attack us at any moment?"
"You interrupted what the alien was doing, so I think she didn't get to complete her task," Kanoi explained. "That is why they have lost some of their memories."
"I'd rather loose part of my memory than be brainwashed to do evils bidding dude. I mean that is so wrong." Seeing the looks he was getting from Tori, Cyber Cam turned back to the computer screen while muttering under his breath, "Pssht, I was just saying."
Tori addressed her Sensei. "I better get back to the motocross track and help the others."
"No need. That alien dude bolted." Shane said as he entered Ninja ops.
"Where are Dustin and Simone?" Cam asked. "Are they alright?"
"Define alright? Physically they're fine."
"But..." Hunter enquired wanting to know more.
"Some alien chick wiped their memories of the last few years," Cyber Cam answered much to the annoyance of Tori.
Tori folded her arms and looked at Cyber Cam. "Seriously Cyber Cam, zip it." Tori turned back to her friends. "Neither of them remembers being power rangers. Their last memories as far as we know are of just before they got their powers. They have the ninja training, but it looks like we are down two rangers."
Hunter took a slight step back. 'No memories of the last few years. That means that neither of them remembers Blake or me. Simone doesn't remember us.' Hunter was shaken from his thoughts when he heard the last of Kanoi's question directed at him. "I'm sorry Sensei, but what did you say?"
Kanoi Watanabe inclined his head slightly. He had a feeling about what was going through Hunter's mind from the moment he found out about his friends. "I asked about Blake's morpher. Sensei Omino informed me that they were going to be passed onto one of your students at the Thunder ninja academy."
"Yes Sensei. I guess I'll have to tell him sooner than later thanks to this latest attack."
"That would be wise Hunter."