Finally chapter seven is up. Sorry for the delay, but this was a very difficult chapter to write (and a long one). Please leave comments and suggestions so that I know that the story still makes sense. Hopefully a bunch of questions are answered in this chapter. Happy reading.
Chapter seven: Choices
Deep within the dark realm, the Tower of the Guardian of the Gate of Darkness reached high into the sky, dwarfing even the enormous canyons of the surrounding mountains. Within its walls, Madeove, a small, stumpy goblin half walked, half waddled quickly down the dark corridor towards the great throne room where the Guardian of Darkness normally reigned.
Madeove had been the Guardian's hand servant; always at his call. The thing about the Guardians, both light and dark, was that the balance of power was their top priority. They honored that creed and never thought to cross into the other's realm. When the Dark Lord had come to Madeove and offered him unlimited power over the Dream Realm, he had jumped at the chance. Already having the Guardian's trust, it was easy enough to catch him off guard and allow the Dark Lord to banish him into another dimension. Once the take over of the Dark Realm was complete, they would conquer the Light Realm, and the Dark Lord would reign over the Earth's realm while Madeove would rule the Dream world.
"Are you entering of not?" A deep voice boomed from the other side of the door, shaking Madeove from his reverie.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed the heavy door open and walked hesitantly inside. He walked quickly to the enormous throne in the center of the room, throwing himself to his knees. The Dark Lord floated effortlessly above the throne. He never appeared in any form other than that of a great black shadow with no features save a pair of the most evil red eyes that Madeove had ever seen.
"My Lord," Madeove struggled to find his voice. "There is news from the border. My spies have told me that the Rangers have found the cave of Remembrance. They have regained their memories…" he swallowed hard. "And they have their powers back."
Madeove shut his eyes tight as he waited for the Dark Lord's retaliation. None came.
"I needed those Humans sans their memories in order to make it easier to take them. However, they would eventually have to restore their powers for me to get access to them." He fell into a thoughtful silence. "We must simply change our plans. Madeove!"
"Yes, Master."
"Make sure that the Humans do not leave the cave of Remembrance. I want those Power Rangers alive and in my custody. Understand?"
"Yes, My Lord." Madeove bowed low as he inched back towards the door.
"And Madeove," The Dark Lord's red eyes narrowed at him. "Do not fail me. I may need the Power Rangers unharmed, but you are expendable."
Jason shook his head to clear his thoughts. They were the Power Rangers. The newly liberated memories felt like the final pieces of a puzzle had been put in place; only he had never known they were missing. While he reveled in the realization, the gravity of the truth began to weigh heavily on his shoulders. He watched the others in the circle, and knew that they felt it too. The silence was overwhelming, but he knew that they, as he did, struggled to find a way to voice what they had just experienced. Adam stared at the floor, while Kim had turned a grim shade of green and looked as though she would lose her lunch at any moment. Billy looked the least shocked which didn't surprise Jason. Billy had been the first to recognize that something was going on. Tommy was the only one in the circle that met Jason's gaze. In his eyes, Jason saw the same questions and concerns that churned in his own stomach.
He wanted to reach out to them all; talk to them about their new self-actualization. Even as he opened his mouth to speak, a thunderous rumble echoed throughout the chamber, threatening to shake them all to their knees. In the center of the circle, the floor seemed to open up, and thin beam of white light shot up from the floor through the ceiling. As they watched the light began to expand outward, stopping only when it had almost reached the pillars where they stood. From within the light itself, a human female form began to materialize.
"Welcome, Power Rangers," A deep, female voice filled the room. When none of them answered, the voice continued. "Do not be afraid. My name is Zuelle. You knew me formerlly as Zordon."
Tommy closed his eyes. All of this new information felt as if it would make his mind implode in on itself. Fortunately, Billy had the means to keep a rational mind. "Zordon? What do you mean? And why are we here? How come our memories were erased and then returned to us?" Once the words started coming out, Billy was unable to stop them.
"Easy, Billy." Jason put a hand on his friend's shoulder. He then addressed the voice. "I think what he's asking in a nut shell is 'what the hell is going on?' We watched Zordon die. He destroyed himself and Zedd."
Even as the light rustled slightly, the voice never waivered. "All will be explained in due time." Zuelle paused for a moment. "Every living thing is made up of two halves; male and female. In most species, the two coexist with one coming forth as dominate. In my species, we are one or the other, never existing together. Masculine and Feminine in their purest forms. You knew me in my former life as Zordon." She paused for effect, while the Rangers processed the information. "When Zordon was destroyed, I was born to take his place. It is a never ending cycle that allows my species to live without end."
Billy let out a low whistle. "Wow, so you never die."
"No, Billy, we simply move in and out of our different parts; sometimes male, sometimes female."
"That's great and all," Kim suddenly found her voice. "But that doesn't explain what we're doing here."
"You have been brought here to have your memories returned to you.
Adam cleared his throat. "Why were our memories erased in the first place?"
"When Zordon saw that he and Lord Zedd were about to be destroyed, he made the decision to remove your memories of being Power Rangers so that you would all be able to go on to live normal lives without the burden of the Rangers following you." Zuelle paused for a moment. "In hind sight, it was a foolish thing to do. It was wrong to deprive you of a very important part of your lives. I am sorry."
"So why now?" Jason said. "Why give our memories back now?"
"There are dark forces at work in the Dream realm. The Power Rangers are the only ones who can stop this evil from spreading throughout the rest of this dimension."
"What kind of evil?" Tommy stepped forward, his interest peeked.
"The Guardian of the dark dream portal has disappeared; taken by an unknown entity from another dimension. Whoever took them is slowly taking over the dream dimension with the ultimate goal of using human dreams to take control of your realm."
Kim snorted. "This is just so ridiculous. Why should we even believe you?"
"It has already begun. The dark force is preparing for domination by stealing the essence of humans. But something else has happened also. He has learned of the existence of the power Rangers."
The Zuelle's image wavered and disappeared. In her place, the image of two all too familiar people appeared, trapped by an unseen force that kept them levitated about five feet off the ground.
Kim's jaw dropped as tears welled up in her eyes. "Trini." She whispered.
"Zack." Jason ground through his teeth.
"The Dark Lord has trapped your friends' souls. In the end, his plan is to trapped each one of you and take your powers. When he has done so, he will use those powers to conquer your world."
Tommy ran his hand through his hair. "Dude, this is incredible."
"Where can we find him?" Billy spoke up.
"He is residing in the Dark Tower; where the Guardian of the Dark Realm reigns. It is there that he is holding your friend."
"How do we get there?" Billy asked, determined.
Zuelle turned her attention to the far wall at the entrance of the room. "Dream walker, come forward."
The authority in her voice made Heather jump. She had been standing quietly; content to watch from the shadows. She stepped uneasily forward.
Zuelle continued. "You will be their guide. You will lead the Power Rangers to the Dark Tower."
"Wait a minute," Heather began, but Zuelle had already turned her attention back to the Power Rangers.
"You will travel through the Forest of Weir, then the Dark City. There will be opposition. The Dark Lord will summon all of his minions to stop you."
Jason snickered. "We have plenty of practice with minions…apparently." He glanced at Tommy who shrugged and nodded. "But how do we go about getting rid of this guy?"
"The source of the Dark Lord's power lies within a the Dark Sphere of Asterove. He keeps it well guarded. You will need to summon the whole of your powers together to destroy it. Destroy the sphere and you will destroy him." Suddenly, Zuelle's light wavered. Her stoic face held a concerned expression. "There is trouble coming. The Dark Lord has learned of your presence here. Even as we speak, he has sent his goblins to get you."
Tommy cracked his knuckles. "Well, let's welcome them."
"That's what I'm talking about." Jason agreed.
Kim had other ideas. "Are you crazy? We're not prepared to fight these guys."
"She's right." Zuelle said. "You must go back to your world and prepare for the battle to come." She looked at Kim. "But you must not take too much time, or it will be too late to save the dream realm. Dream walker, take them now. It will be up to you to prepare them for their journey."
"But," Heather stuttered.
"There is no time." Zuelle insisted. "You must go."
Realizing that arguing would be pointless, Heather nodded. Closing her eyes, she focused on the Power Rangers. Adam began to feel dizzy as Heather prepared to take them back to their own dimension. Even as he felt himself moving back into waking consciousness, he called out to Zuelle.
"Wait! What about Kat…what happened to…?"
Adam opened his eyes to find himself sitting in his favorite arm chair in his living room, just as he had been when Heather had begun the hypnosis session. His friends were all there as well, each stretching their limbs to relieve the stiffness of being in same position for an extended period of time. Adam cursed under his breath. He was still unable to find out what happened to Kat. He stood up angrily and walked stiffly to the French doors looking out to the back deck. He absently noted that the sun was beginning to set and wondered how long they had been gone.
"Everyone okay?" Heather moved her head from side to side to stretch out the crick in her neck.
Tommy stood up, raising his arms above his head and feeling a satisfying pop in his back. "Man, that was weird." He put his hand on Kim's shoulder. She still sat in a daze but looked up at him with glazed eyes. She saw the concern in his eyes and nodded that she was okay.
"Can you guys believe that we had an entire chunk of our teenage years erased?" Jason said from his chair.
"Yeah, well, I would have preferred that they stayed gone." Kim stood suddenly, ignoring their gaping stares. "What? You guys think that we can just waltz into another dimension and take on some evil overlord? Does anyone besides me think that this is just an insane idea?"
Jason nodded. "Of course it's insane, Kim. But it's the fate of the world we're talking about here."
Kim folded her arms firmly across her chest. "Yeah, well, how do we know that this Zuelle is even telling the truth? This could be some elaborate trap, you know. Besides, who the hell does she think she is? First Zordon thinks it's okay to mess with our memories and now his 'female form' wants to screw with our minds even more. This is ridiculous and I want nothing to do with it." She turned and started down the hall towards the guest bedroom.
"But Kim," Tommy started after her.
Kim stopped short and spun around to face Tommy only to find herself just inches from him. She instinctively took a step back and slowly let out the breath caught in her throat. "Look, Tommy, I have a life back home, and people who depend on me. We are not teenagers anymore. Let Zordon or Zuelle or whoever find some more 'teenagers with attitude' to do his or her dirty work." She turned away from him.
"What about Trini?"
"Trini would understand." Kim hung her head and sighed heavily. "I'm drained, and I have a flight to catch in the morning." She forced herself to look into Tommy's eyes, fearing the disappointment she would find there. All she saw was empathy. "I think I would like to be alone." With that she moved into the guest bedroom and closed the door.
Tommy sighed and made his way back into the living room. He shrugged. "We may have to do this without Kim."
"You heard what Zuelle said," Billy shook his head dramatically. "We have to use all of our powers to destroy the sphere of Asterove."
Tommy fell heavy on the couch. "Well, we're going to have to figure out how to do it without Kim."
"Don't worry about Kimmy, bro." Jason said. "Give her some time to digest all of this. She'll come around."
Tommy nodded. "I just hope she comes around in time."
Steam filled the bathroom as the hot water quickly filled the large tub in the guest bathroom. Kim stared at herself in the mirror as she peeled off her clothes. Tommy was right, of course, there was no way that Kim, in good conscious, could leave Trini and Zack at the mercy of some maniac with a Napoleon complex. But couldn't help thinking of Sean and all of her friends back home. Things had been so simple when she had boarded the plane to California only two days earlier. She had planned on going to the funeral, spending a couple of days catching up with her friends and going back to her normal, boring life. Never in her wildest imagination had she thought she would get caught up in some kind of inter-dimensional war.
She pinned her hair to the top of her head and let out a long, deliberate breath. Hopefully, a soak in the steam filled bath tub would help to clear her mind and offer answers to her uncertainty. She carefully slipped into the near scalding water and sank into weightlessness. The hot water immediately began to let her tightened muscles to unwind. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to drift into a state of total relaxation. She was so relax that she didn't realize that she began to slip into the first stages of sleep.
Kim had never felt more relaxed than she did at that moment. She stretched her arms high over head reveling in the soft cool grass on her back through her sheer sundress. She smiled feeling the warm sun on her face while the soft trickling of the stream bubbling next to her could barely be heard over the gentle rustling of trees overhead. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel a familiar, friendly presence next to her. "Isn't this wonderful, Sean?" Rolling to her side, she raised her lids to look into the eyes of the man that she loved. Only it wasn't Sean.
Kim bolted upright, blinking against the sun. "Tommy."
Tommy sat up, looking at her with a warm, but knowing smile.
"What are you doing here?" She stood quickly and moved away from him. He followed like a predator stalking his prey.
"You tell me, Kim. It's your dream."
She continued backpedaling until she backed into tree halting her escape. She stared at him suddenly painfully aware that he was bare-chested and looking oh-so-yummy. Stop it, Kim. She scolded herself.
He lifted an eyebrow. "Well?"
Raising her chin in defiance, she met his gaze. "I was hoping for Sean. You know, my fiancé?"
Tommy stopped only inches from her face. "And yet, here I am." As he leaned in closer to kiss her, she abruptly ducked and quickly moved out of the way.
"Look, Tommy, I know that the other night we let things get a little out of hand, but I'm in love with somebody else, and well, you just need to stay out of my dreams. Seriously."
She turned to leave but was stopped as large hand grabbed her roughly by the arm. She whipped her head around to stare into Tommy's dark eyes. Suddenly she was afraid. "There's really no need to leave so soon, beautiful."
Even as he said the words, Kim could hear something sinister in his voice. This isn't right, she thought. Suddenly, her instincts took over (instincts that she thought were long forgotten) as she brought her knee up and into his groin. Tommy doubled over in pain giving Kim the opportunity to escape his loosened grip and leap away from him, landing lithely in a fighting stance.
Tommy's howling began to morph into a low, dark laugh as he stood upright to look at her. Before her eyes, her friend slowly changed into an ugly gnarled goblin. He gave her a wide grin showing her his jagged teeth. She could hear more evil laughter coming from the brush around her and found herself surrounded by a half a dozen more goblins each wielding his own deadly looking weapon.
Now unsure of her fighting abilities, Kim glanced around the clearing looking for an escape. Looking up, she was struck with an idea. She gathered as much power as she could manage and leapt easily in the air reached above her head to grab an overhanging branch with both hands. Using the strength she had built up over her years as a gymnast, she pulled herself up until she was balancing gingerly on her feet. Then launching herself into the air, she performed a double flip and landed gracefully on the ground behind the goblins. Without hesitation she took off in a full run, hoping that years of training and conditioning would not fail her now. Her lungs burned as she ran through the trees amazed at how easily she was able to maneuver through the brush, avoiding trees and fallen limbs. Behind her, she could hear the goblins trailing behind her.
As she reached another clearing, she was halted as a menacing shadow loomed before her. She stumbled and reared back to catch her balance. Just a quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Her hesitation had given the goblins just enough time to reach the clearing and she found herself surrounded once more. She looked around for an escape, but none presented itself. There were neither overhanging trees nor anything to use as a weapon.
The head goblin, who had disguised himself as Tommy, snickered. "Nice try, beautiful. Some Power Ranger you turned out to be." He sneered.
Kim stopped. She was a the Pink Power Ranger. How do I access the power? She thought quickly, but she couldn't seem to remember. Damn it. Then it was too late. The goblins launched at her, striking out. Kim felt as if everything were moving in slow motion as she unwittingly dodged and countered their attacks with a series of flips and kicks. It felt familiar somehow, like she had been doing it her whole life. She had no clue how she did it, but she soon found herself alone again with unconscious goblins at her feet.
"Good, good," A deep, menacing voice spoke behind her. As she turned she saw the same shadow, now coming toward her. "Madeove was wrong, you are a strong Power Ranger, and your knowledge will give me the power to rule your world."
Knowing that she would easily be defeated, Kim did the only thing that she could. She screamed.