Kelly and Leanne were a little impressed with the Dino Ranger base. It was no Ninja Ops, just the basement of some teacher's house, but the equipment was pretty high tech for a basement base, and so far it seemed to have helped the Rangers save the world.
The Dino Rangers sat on the small flight of stairs leading up to the main computer. Kelly and Leanne stood a little ways away from them while their mentor, the Blake Ranger, Tommy Oliver, debriefed them on their fight.
"The important thing is you guys are okay," he said. "And that we learned something."
"What it's like having our butts kicked?" Conner frowned.
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourselves," Kelly said. "Those Rangers are trained Ninjas. They've been fighting for years."
"She's right," Tommy nodded. "It's going to take a lot more to defeat them."
"More?" Kira asked. "Like what?"
Tommy shook his head, "I don't know, Kira. That's what we need to figure out."
"Well, why don't we just use our Ninja Zords and kick their ninja butts?" Conner asked, getting to his feet. His other Rangers followed him. Kelly turned to Leanne with a slight look of fear.
"You can't destroy them," she breathed. She pointed to the monitor, "Evil or not, they're our friends."
"Kelly's right," Tommy said. "These people were once good. Something happened to them and until we figure it out, we defend ourselves, but we don't destroy them."
Ethan turned to Leanne, "Why can't you stop them, then?" he asked, pointing to her Thunder Staff resting against the wall. "You might stand a better chance than us?"
Leanne picked up her staff, "I can hold them off, but I don't think I could stop them without your help."
-Reefside-
Lothor sat on his chair, feeling proud of his victory against the Dino Rangers. He had won a few battles before, but always turned up short in the end. This time he had a good feeling. This time he wasn't going to lose. He had his own team of Power Rangers fighting loyally for him, and they were powerful.
"Well, that was quite a sight," he said as he relaxed.
Shane nodded and chuckled, "It was brilliant."
"You truly are a strategic genius," Tori smiled. Dustin walked up behind her, nodding his head.
"I can't wait to face the Dino Rangers again."
Lothor smiled, basking in his glory as he yawned loudly.
"I think it's time for a power nap, what do you say, Rangers?"
"I think you've deserved it," Shane said, bowing to his master. Lothor jumped up.
"Anyone want to join me?" he asked, gazing at Tori specifically. Dustin grabbed her arm, pulling her back slightly. Even under Lothor's spell, he still didn't feel right leaving anyone of his friends alone with the evil Ninja, especially Tori. Lothor had been making subtle hints at a romance ever since they all arrived in the cave that served as a base, and thankfully Tori had declined them all. Though Dustin's job was to serve Lothor, his loyalty was still to his friends. He would only follow Lothor as long as Shane and Tori did. If they broke away from him, so would he.
"We'll do you one better," Dustin smiled just before a woman walked in confidently.
"You're going to need more than a nap to defeat the Power Rangers," she said, clutching her sword that rested on her hip. "Lucky for you, my master is willing to help out."
Shane walked up behind her, glaring at the back of her head.
"How did you get in here?" he asked. The woman didn't coward, she stood strong and turned, snapping at Shane.
"Back off, buddy!" she shouted before she turned back to Lothor, "Mesogog doesn't mess around with amateurs."
Lothor approached the woman, "It seems Mesogog has sent us his messenger. The least we can do is listen to the message."
"I don't trust her, Lothor," Tori said, glaring at Else. There was something off about this woman, and her Master Mesogog just by association. Why on Earth would two villains who have the same goal want to team up? Only one person could rule the world in their own way. The other villain would eventually fall.
Lothor waved his hand, dismissing her, "Go do something productive," he told her. "I want to hear what Mesogog has to say."
-Reefside-
Hayley stretched as he pushed her chair away from the computer and turned to Tommy. She was the Dino Ranger's technician and had been working hard on finding the footage of what happened to the Wind Rangers. She was still coming up short, but while working a thought had come to mind.
"You know, there's something we haven't even considered," she spoke up.
"I'm way ahead of you," Tommy said. "Mesogog, right?"
"How does he know all this?" Kelly whispered. Ethan leaned over.
"He's done this before."
"What if Mesogog finds out about this?" Kira asked. "Can you imagine the two of them on the same side?"
"That won't be good," Leanne breathed.
-Reefside-
Blake stared down at the Abyss of Evil. It had been opened up, confirming everyone's suspicions that Lothor had surfaced from its depths. However, the Abyss opening wasn't all bad news. Cam figured that their powers were still locked up down there and because they had the opportunity now, they should go and retrieve them.
"Are you nuts?" Blake finally asked as Hunter placed a helmet on his head.
"If we want to save Tori, Shane and Dustin, we need all the help we can get," Cam said. "Our powers are down there."
"As well as the entire army of monsters we've defeated, twice!" Blake said.
"C'mon, little bro," Hunter smirked. "Don't you want to see Tori again?"
Blake nodded, "Yeah, but…" he looked over the edge again, "dude, that's a long way down."
Cam attached a rope onto Blake's harness, "We'll stick together. If we split up, we're through."
"Thanks, that's just what I needed to hear," Blake said as he lowered himself down slowly. "Have you guys even considered that I might like the whole dominatrix side of Tori?"
"Have you considered the fact that Tori's dominatrix side will try and kill you?" Hunter smirked.
"Something's messing with her mind, Blake," Cam said. "Lothor's got all three of our friends. They're depending on us to save them."
Blake looked down at the pit. His brother and Cam were right. He just wished it wasn't such a long way down.
The three boys lowered themselves down carefully and landed on a ledge. They took off their harnesses, needing as little movement limitations as possible. Suddenly, their noses picked up on the stench.
"That's nasty," Hunter frowned, smacking his brother on the arm.
"It wasn't me, bro," Blake said.
"The sooner we find our powers, the sooner we'll be able to get out of here," Cam nodded.
"Motivation enough for me," Blake said. Hunter turned to him.
"I thought saving your girlfriend was motivation."
"Guys," Cam called, pointing over to the middle of the cavern, "there. It's the samurai Amulet."
"I can't believe there is no one guarding it," Hunter muttered. As if on cue, Zurgane and his army appeared before the Amulet, standing guard. The three men dropped into an offensive stance and Blake cocked his head towards Hunter.
"You had to say it, didn't you?" he asked.
Cam, Hunter and Blake rushed forward, each taking their own small team as they pushed closer and closer to the amulet.
-Reefside-
After the talk with Dr. O, the Rangers, Kelly and Leanne returned to Cyberspace to wait out the eventual arrival of the Wind Rangers. It was also an easier meeting place so the boys could join their girlfriends.
As Ethan sat by the computer, Kelly paced the room with her cell phone pressed to her hear. She groaned in frustration as he hung up.
"Still nothing," she said. "That's the fourth time I call. Where is he?"
Leanne put her phone away, "Cam won't answer either."
"Do you think they went in the Abyss?" Conner asked after overhearing their conversation. Leanne and Kelly seemed nervous when he brought up that thought.
"I hope not," they breathed.
"Hey, guys!" Ethan called, turning to his friends. He pointed to his computer screen, "It says here the Ninja Rangers defeated a hundred space mutants at one time!"
"After fighting them, I believe it," Kira nodded.
Conner looked at his friend, "Oh, c'mon! They weren't that tough!"
"The Red one cleaned the floor with your ass," Ethan retorted, but nothing could pop the giant bubble that was Conner's ego.
"Still, I would fight them right here, right now!"
As Conner finished his sentence the doors were blown open and the Ninja Rangers rushed in, standing in a line against the Dino Rangers. Conner, Kira and Ethan jumped to their feet, standing before their respective foes. Kelly backed away, knowing that if a fight broke out she would be in for trouble.
Leanne rushed between the two teams and placed her hands on Conner and Shane's chest, keeping them both apart.
Shane grabbed her arm, throwing her aside as he lifted his other hand. A strong gust of wind blew, knocking everyone off their feet. The civilians in the store rushed off, while Conner, Kira, Ethan, Leanne and Kelly remained where they were.
Conner growled, "Can I get you anything?" he asked sarcastically, "A coffee or a muffin, maybe?"
"I try to stay away from sugar," Shane said. "It makes me hyper."
"I would hate to see him when he gets hyper," Ethan commented.
"Get up!" Tori shouted, prompting the Dino Rangers to jump to their feet. Conner, Kira and Ethan stood before their respective colours. A smirked tugged on Conner's lips as he eyed the Blue Ninja for a moment.
"Dude," he smiled, tapping Ethan on the chest, "she's kinda cute, don't you think?"
"Yeah, in a crazed Ninja terminator sort of way," Ethan nodded as he checked Tori out. Kelly groaned loudly while Kira smacked Conner on the arm
"Will you two focus?" she snapped, wiping the foolish grins off both their faces. Conner looked over at her apologetically before turning to Shane.
"Can we get on with this?" Shane asked, stepping forward.
"We're not going to fight you here," Conner said.
"Well, we're just going to have to destroy you."
Conner and Shane were only inches apart at this point, with the other four only a step behind their leaders. They exchanged looks before Conner suddenly lunged at Shane. Leanne and Kelly jumped up, breaking up the fight. Leanne stood between the two reds while Kelly pulled back on Conner's arm.
"Guys, not here," Leanne shouted.
"Conner, don't let him get to you," Kelly advised. "He's not thinking clearly, and if you provoke him…"
"Fine," Conner said, shaking Kelly off. He glared at Shane, "We'll meet wherever you want. But you come alone."
"Why should we agree to that?" Shane asked. He pointed to Leanne and Kelly, "You're going to bring your body guards with you."
"I guess you Ninjas don't think you're strong enough to take down a few high schoolers," Kira said, glaring at Dustin. He glared right back at her, his eyes never straying from hers. Ethan and Tori were locked in the same staring contest.
Conner and Shane glared at each other as well, both fighting the urge to attack the other. Leanne could feel them both pressing against her hands.
"Under the Harbour Bridge," Leanne said, turning to face Shane. She could feel Conner pressing up against her back and she was sure that if she wasn't standing between the two of them, they would go at it again. "We'll meet up in one hour."
"Fine," Shane growled, "The eight of us. No one else."
"Fine," Conner snarled, "We'll be there."
All six Rangers exchanged one last look before the Ninjas disappeared in a flash of light. Ethan couldn't keep his composure anymore.
"Ninja streak? Oh, how cool is that?" he laughed to himself. His friends, as well as Kelly and Leanne turned to him with a curious look. Conner pulled away from Leanne.
"I could have taken him," he told her. "If you had just let me."
"No offense, but you were knocked on your asses by a gust of wind," Kelly said. "At least this way we have more time to call the others."
"I thought it was just going to be us," Kira asked. "Don't know ninjas have a code of honour or something."
"Our first goal is to save our friends," Leanne said. She looked at Kelly, who pulled her phone out and again tried to dial Hunter's number.
-Reefside-
Down in the Abyss, Cam, Hunter and Blake were still locked in their own battles, but Cam never took his eyes off the prize. He knocked Zurgane over and rushed for the Amulet, standing on the tip of the ledge, and the tip of his toes, to try and reach it.
Zurgane screamed loudly as he got to his feet and slammed the ground with his swords, causing the entire Abyss to shake. Cam fell backwards, narrowly avoiding death, while Hunter was knocked off his feet and hit the ground hard.
Blake wasn't so fortunate. He had been fighting near the ledge and when the ground shook he lost his footing and toppled over. Hunter saw this and scurried over to his brother, on his hands and knees.
"Blake!" he shouted, reaching his hand out. Blake was too far for him to catch, so Hunter jumped down as well. Cam felt his stomach turned as he watched. He ran over to the ledge where Blake had fallen and looked down.
There, suspended from the rocky cliff, Hunter hung with one arm. The other held onto his baby brother tight. Hunter was just close enough for Cam to reach so the Wind Sensei grabbed his arm.
Zurgane, thinking he had won, turned his back on his enemies and disappeared. Even if they could somehow manage to pull themselves up, there was no way they could make it back to the top of the Abyss.
"Hang on!" Cam called down to his friends.
"I'm trying!" Hunter shouted he looked down at Blake, who was dangling over darkness. The fall was going to be anything but pleasant.
"I'm losing my grip!" Blake called out.
Cam tried to grab on in a way that would help him pull his two friends up, but his grip on Hunter slipped slightly.
Blake groaned loudly, "I can't believe I'm going to miss my race!"
"Dude, where are your priorities?" Hunter asked. "Did you seriously just say that?"
"I can't hold on," Cam grunted, grabbing Hunter with his other hand as the Crimson Ranger started to slip, further and further. Just as Cam was about to lose his grip completely, another hand reached down.
-Reefside-
"Still nothing!" Kelly shouted, resisting the urge to throw her phone into the water. Conner, Kira and Ethan paced under the Harbour bridge, waiting for the Ninjas to show up. They turned to Kelly at her outburst and sighed.
"I'm sure he's fine," Kira said comfortingly.
"You don't think he was stupid enough to go down into the Abyss, do you?" Kelly asked her sister, going back to Conner's thought from earlier.
"If they did, it was probably Cam's stupid idea," Leanne muttered. She eyed her sister, and then her friends, "We can't worry about that, though. The others will be here any minute."
"Are you sure you don't want us to destroy them?" Conner asked, cracking his knuckles. He couldn't wait to prove his strength again. Last time the Ninjas had taken him and his team by surprise. This time they were ready.
"You can't hurt them," Kelly shook her head. "If we can get them out of this spell, or whatever mind games Lothor's played, they'll be great allies. Trust me."
"I think she's right," Kira agreed. "You heard Dr. O. They were good people. We can't hurt them."
"I don't think we'll have a choice once they start kicking our asses," Ethan grumbled. Conner turned to him.
"They weren't that tough!" he shouted. "We can take them on any day. Last time they just caught us by surprise."
The wind picked up before suddenly growing very strong, blowing the Dino Rangers and their allies over and knocking them onto their butts once again. Ethan groaned as he got to his feet, rubbing his butt.
"You've got to stop saying that," he muttered to his friend as the three Ninjas appeared from nowhere. Dustin turned to Kelly, spotting the phone in her hand.
"Already trying to call for help?" he asked before a rock was thrown her way. Kelly shut her eyes, fearing the worse until she felt her phone being ripped from her hands. When she opened her eyes, she turned to the water and heard a splash.
"Dustin…"
"Leave her out of this," Leanne shouted, standing before her sister.
"Your fight is with us," Conner added, "or have you already forgotten?"
"We haven't forgotten," Shane smirked.
"You guys can't do this," Kelly shouted, hoping to maybe break through the spell before things got nasty. She trusted Ethan and Kira wouldn't go too far, but Conner seemed determined to destroy Shane. However, it wasn't the same case for the Ninjas. They were going to do all they could to destroy the Dino Rangers.
"You're on the wrong side, girls," Tori chuckled. "We've finally realised Lothor's the most powerful being on this planet. You might want to side with him before it's too late."
"Side with Lothor? He almost killed my father!" Leanne said, "He's the villain."
"You're just on the wrong team," Shane smirked before rushing towards the two girls. Conner caught his arm and flipped him over, feeling pride in his accomplishment. It was short lived though when Conner's feet were suddenly pulled from under him.
The fight had begun.