DISCLAIMER
Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the subplots.
In the book? That's not good, Tommy thought to himself. By the looks on Rocky and Kimberly's faces, he gathered they were thinking the same thing.
"We better call for help," Tommy said.
"Yeah, something tells me we're gonna need it," Rocky agreed.
"Zordon, it's Tommy. Come in," the two-colored Ranger said into his communicator. However, there was nothing but silence. He tapped his communicator expecting to hear the high-pitched squeal that they occasionally heard when the devices were down, but there was only silence.
"Jason, guys? Can you hear us?" Kimberly questioned, turning to her own communicator. Again, there was nothing but silence. Their communicators didn't even make a squealing noise.
"Why don't we try teleporting?" Rocky suggested. The trio did so, but found that they couldn't do that either.
"Great. We're completely cut off," Kimberly huffed, trying to quell her unease. Oh, what are they planning? she wondered. This was new territory, even by Ranger standards and she would feel a whole lot better if there was some way they could reach the others. Rita laughed.
"That's right, Kimmie! Zordon and your little friends can't help you now!" she taunted.
"And with those three out of commission, the others will drop like flies!" Scorpina enthused.
"And it was all possible because of Empress Rita," Goldar declared. In the youth center, the rest of the Rangers except for Jason and Trini, as well as their friends with the exception of Richie who was still working, were sitting at a table.
"I'm worried. Shouldn't they have been here by now?" Aisha asked.
"Well, Tommy's always late. But not Kim," Zack replied.
"You don't think something's happened to them, do you?" Zane queried.
"Hey, why don't we just give them a few more minutes?" Curtis suggested.
"Yeah, I'm sure they're okay," Angela agreed. Back in the storybook, Tommy, Kimberly, and Rocky were trying to come up with a way to get out of the book.
"Maybe we should just morph," Rocky suggested after a while. "I mean, we sometimes automatically just teleport."
"Yeah, but that's when we're about to go into battle. There's no guarantee that would work here," Tommy pointed out.
"Well, we could-" Kimberly started to say.
"Okay, what are you doing here? Who are you? Come on, I don't have all day," a voice interrupted.
"Grumble?" Kimberly wondered.
"Who?" Rocky asked.
"Answer the second question first," the voice continued as a blue figure with a white beard wearing a Santa costume appeared.
"Grumble! Thank goodness!" Kimberly exclaimed.
"What, you know this guy?" Rocky questioned. What, did she meet him during a mission or something? he wondered to himself.
"I said, 'Who are you'?" Grumble repeated harshly. Well, there goes that theory, Rocky thought to himself.
"Hi, I'm Kimberly. This is Tommy and Rocky, and you're-" Kimberly started.
"Grumble the elf," he finished with her. "What's it to you, girlie?"
"What's with him?" Tommy asked Rocky.
"An evil magician put a spell on Grumble and turned him into a grouch," Kimberly answered. "And he has to deliver these toys to the children if he ever wants to be nice again."
"What are you, some kind of gossip or something?" Grumble inwardly winced at the words that came out of his mouth. But he couldn't stop himself. Mondo's magic was too strong. At least the girl didn't get upset with him.
"I've heard this story a hundred times."
"So, what do you want, a medal? I've got work to do." He pushed her out of the way. "Get out of my way. I've got work to do."
"Let's follow him. Maybe if we finish the story along with him, we can get out of here," Kimberly suggested.
"Good idea," the boys agreed. Tommy, Kimberly, and Rocky hurried after him. Meanwhile, the monster alarm in the Command Center blared as Alpha ran a scan on Angel Grove.
"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi! The sensors are picking up a disturbance, but at the same time, I'm not seeing anything amiss!" On the moon, Zedd walked into the main area of the palace.
"What's going on here?" he asked.
"Rita has trapped three of the Rangers in a storybook," Goldar reported, trying not to sound smug.
"And what if they make it to the end of the story?" Zedd demanded.
"But they won't, Zeddy! I was spying on them and according to Pinky, the elf has to deliver the toys to some children to get the spell lifted."
"So?"
"So, we can send some Putties down to steal the toys, that way, the story won't end and the Power Brats will never escape." With that, she had Finster make Putties, who were soon sent into the book. On Earth, two boys were walking through the park when they saw the book.
"Hey, why would someone throw away a perfectly good book?" the first boy wondered.
"I don't know, man," his friend answered. "Why don't we give it to Ms. Appleby? It'll probably sell at the fair."
"Good idea." They walked off, unaware of the book's unusual content. In the book, Grumble was still complaining.
"Whistle while I work. Whose stupid idea was that? You whistle when you're happy. Do I look happy? This is not a happy elf you're looking at," he complained out loud.
"Hey, Grumble!" Kimberly called, as they caught up with him.
"Oh, you again. What do you want?" Grumble asked.
"Well, we were thinking we could go with you, you know, help deliver the toys to the kids," Kimberly answered.
"So, you want to tag along huh?" Grumble queried. "Okay, fine. But don't talk to me." they continued on their way, unaware that they were being followed. Suddenly, there was a rustling noise.
"What was that?" Kimberly asked.
"Listen Girlie, if you're going to complain-" whatever Grumble was going to say got cut off as the Putties surrounded them. Grumble let out a cry of surprise as the three Rangers went into action.
"Geez! What's going on here? What are these guys, some kind of mixed-up Robin Hoods?" Grumble wondered. He winced as one of the creatures hit Kimberly. The attacks kept coming until the three were winded. Seeing the chance, the Putties grabbed the toys and then disappeared.
"Oh, this is great. Now I've got no toys, the kids will be disappointed, the spell will never be lifted, and I've got you, you, and you to thank for it," Grumble griped, pointing at the Rangers. Then, he took off. Rocky and Tommy hurried after Grumble as Kimberly stood there for a minute. What if we never get out of here? I'll never see my parents or my friends again, she thought to herself.
"Kim, you okay?" Tommy asked, as the two boys slowed. She nodded and stared at them determinedly.
"I'm fine," she assured. She couldn't break down. They had been in tougher situations before. "I just liked this story a whole lot more when I wasn't in it." With that, they headed off.
