DISCLAIMER
Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I'm making up Ms. Appleby and Mr. Caplan's first names. And not everyone calls their principal by the title. When I was elementary school, we called him "Mr." and then his last name. I use a line from "Green With Evil 4: Eclipsing Megazord" and also make a reference to it.
On the moon, Zedd laughed.
"This is undoubtedly the final chapter for those accursed Rangers."
"Yes, now this is a story worth telling, my love." Rita laughed as Goldar and Scorpina watched them.
"I can't wait to destroy him," Goldar snarled, clenching a fist.
"Easy, darling. The time will come," Scorpina assured, placing a hand on his wrist. Meanwhile, at Bulk's house, Skull was wrapping the gift for his mother.
"You know Skull, I was almost tempted to buy that monster-making book."
"What? Why?"
"It seemed like it would've been a good way to draw them out-if we didn't already know who they were."
"Yeah, it's hard to believe sometimes, huh? Them?"
"I'll say. I always just thought they were dweebs."
"But I have to admit, I can see Kimberly as Pink. She's always had this strength…even if she didn't know it." Bulk nodded.
"And Aisha too."
"Yeah." The two boys grinned.
"So Bulkie, have you asked her out again?"
"Nah. I-I wouldn't want to distract her." Meanwhile, at the youth center, the others had become increasingly worried.
"I don't like this. I mean, I know Tommy's late, but Kimberly and Rocky should've been here a long time ago," Aisha stated.
"Well, maybe Bulk and Skull ran across them. Why don't you give them a call?" Adam suggested. Aisha did so. Hearing the noise, Bulk stopped and pressed a button, fervently hoping he hadn't just pressed the teleportation button instead of the talk button.
"Bulk here," he announced hesitantly.
"Bulk, have you seen Tommy, Kim, and Rocky? They were going to meet us at the youth center, but they never showed," Aisha said.
"Haven't seen them since the fair. Sorry," Bulk announced.
"Okay, thanks," Aisha responded.
"How do you turn this thing off?" they all heard him ask. The others stifled laughs. Then, they became serious.
"Why don't we check back at the book fair? I mean, maybe one of them remembered seeing a book that they liked and then just got distracted," Jason suggested and they headed back.
"Hey, Richie, I know I said we could spar together, but Kim, Rocky, and Tommy haven't shown up yet, so we're going back to book fair to see if they went back," Trini called.
"All right. Anything wrong?" Richie wondered. Ernie turned around at the slight concern in his employee's voice.
"I don't think so, but just to be on the safe side…" Trini's voice trailed off.
"Right," Richie nodded.
"Hey, if they show, I'll tell them you're looking for them," Ernie stated.
"Thanks, Ernie!" Zack acknowledged. Then, the Rangers headed out. Meanwhile, in the Command Center, Alpha had finally discovered what was causing the disturbance, via the viewing globe's memory.
"Ai-yi-yi-yi! Tommy, Kimberly, and Rocky have been sucked into her book."
"Contact the other Rangers at once." Alpha did so. The Rangers, who had made it halfway through the park, stopped when they heard the tone.
"What's up, Zordon?" Jason asked.
"Report to the Command Center immediately," Zordon instructed. They all looked around to make sure it was clear. Once they were sure that it was, they teleported.
"Zordon, what's going on? Where are Rocky, Kimberly, and Tommy?" Aisha wondered.
"They were pulled into Kimberly's storybook," Zordon responded.
"What?" everyone asked, turning to face the globe.
"Oh, man. Talk about a twisted fairytale," Zack complained.
"They just have to get to the end of the story, right? And then they'll be free," Aisha said optimistically.
"Unfortunately, Rita had her Putties steal the elf's toys so that the story could not end," Zordon revealed.
"Oh, man," Jason said.
"What exactly is the story?" Adam wondered.
"It's Grumble The Magic Elf. Grumble's placed under a spell by the evil magician Mondo, and it turns him into this big grouch," Jason answered.
"So, how does he break the spell?" Adam asked.
"At the end of the book, Grumble delivers toys to kids in an orphanage and the act of kindness lifts the spell," Trini explained.
"But without the story's key component, the likelihood of them escaping are basically nil," Billy told them.
"Man, we can't just leave them there!" Zack cried. In the storybook, the three Rangers shivered.
"Guys, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have walked up to the book when it started acting strangely. It was a rookie mistake," Kimberly apologized as she sat on a rock. Her boyfriend put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, no it's not. We all walked up to it," Tommy told her, squeezing it. She smiled at him gratefully as she felt some of his strength flow into her.
"Yeah, and the only ones to blame for this are Rita and Zedd," Rocky added.
"And hey, maybe Grumble knows a different way to get out of here," Tommy suggested.
"It's worth a shot," Kimberly agreed. "Come on, let's go find him." They all took off. At the book fair , the two boys handed the book to Ms. Appleby.
"Thank you, boys. I'm sure we'll be able to sell this. Fairytales are always popular," she told them. They left just as Principal Richard Caplan walked up.
"Well, Sarah, how goes the fair?" the man asked.
"Very well, Mr. Caplan," Ms. Appleby answered. "The kids seem to really be enjoying themselves," she continued.
"Good. It's nice to hear that the kids are showing school spirit. Carry on," the man said, and began to walk around.
"Grumble The Magic Elf," she read out loud. This was one of my favorites when I was little, she thought. Soon, she found herself thinking of younger days as she flipped through the pages, not realizing that if she had looked closer, she would've noticed the three new characters in the book. Back at Bulk's house, the two former bullies looked at each other.
"Do you think they're okay?" Skull asked.
"I'm sure they're fine. They're all strong, even without their powers," Bulk assured.
"Right. And Kim's tougher than they give her credit for," Skull nodded. They'd be okay. They just had to be. In the Command Center, the other Rangers were frowning thoughtfully.
"Wait a minute. Perhaps if we were to reconstruct the toys," Billy suggested.
"That just might work," Jason approved. "Trini, can you do it?"
"I'm all over it," Trini assured. Just then, the alarm blared.
"What's that?" Adam asked.
"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi! I'm not sure!" Alpha answered. Back in Grumble The Magic Elf, Tommy, Kimberly, and Rocky had found themselves in a valley of snow.
"I think we're lost you guys," Tommy stated.
"Yeah, and we're not exactly dressed for it, either," Rocky commented.
"We're not lost but I don't think you guys want to know where we are," Kimberly told them. Rocky was about to ask her what she meant, but was cut off by a loud rumble that sounded like a footstep.
"Whoa!" Kimberly cried. The sound came again. "Oh, I always hated this part of the story!" she continued.
"Kim, what is it? What's going on?" Tommy wondered. The next crash knocked them off of their feet.
"You guys, there's a snow monster in this part of the book," she told them. "He's really ugly, and…guess what? He doesn't like uninvited guests." The all turned around as the footsteps came closer.
"Pardon the chilly reception, but I don't recall any of you asking permission to make snow angels in my valley," the snow monster snapped. They turned around to see that it had a blue and white body that was covered by white shaggy fur, and had a thick, white mustache that complimented its long, sharp, menacing teeth. Rocky and Tommy instinctively pulled Kimberly closer, moving so that they were side-by-side. In the Command Center, Billy had been working the consoles.
"I found them," he finally said. They turned to the viewing globe.
"We can't fight him through all of this ice!" they heard Tommy say as he and Rocky covered Kimberly to protect her from the falling debris.
"They're in trouble!" Aisha exclaimed.
"They must be on the page with the snow monster," Jason surmised.
"Where could the book be?" Adam wondered.
"It's probably at the book fair," Zack answered.
"Come on, let's go," Jason said. They teleported to the school and began looking for the book. Inside, Kimberly, Rocky, and Tommy stood up.
"It's morphin' time!" Tommy shouted. The trio pulled out their Morphers and there was a whirring sound.
"Huh?" they asked.
"We're not morphing," Kimberly said in trepidation. Not again, she thought. The last time something like this had happened, Goldar had been destroying downtown Angel Grove.
"The cold-it must've froze our Morphers," Rocky realized. The monster used his powers to summon up a storm. On the moon, Rita and Zedd laughed.
"YES! I love it! They'll be frozen to death in a storybook and no one will be none the wiser!" Zedd cheered.
"And once the other Rangers are destroyed, the world will be ours for the taking," Rita added. They laughed. At the youth center, Richie, Justin, Tina, Zane, Hilary, Chris tried to act normally and not hide their concern. Just then, Bulk and Skull came in.
"Hey guys," Richie greeted.
"Any word?" Bulk asked. Richie shook his head. Ernie watched the exchange with interest, but didn't say a word. I still don't understand why they're all so friendly with each other all of sudden. It's weird, he thought to himself. On the moon, Rita was looking through the telescope and had taken to zooming in on the pictures in the book.
"What are you doing, my Putrid Pumpkin?"
"Looking for a monster to make."
"Why not have Finster make a monster?"
"And have the Rangers expect it? No! We need something that'll throw the Rangers off guard!" She continued until she noticed something that fit her qualifications.
"YES! YES! YES! IT'S PERFECT!" She hurried away, got her crystal ball, and began chanting in a foreign language. In the book that she had seen, the picture of the creature she had selected shimmered and faded, and within seconds, it had disappeared from the book and soared through the sky. Back in their own book, Rocky, Tommy, and Kimberly ran as the storm intensified. Kimberly shivered and Tommy pulled her close.
"This isn't good," Rocky said.
"I'll say," Kimberly agreed.
"Aw man, if we don't figure out a way to get the Morphers to work and get out of here, we're going to have a real unhappy ending," Tommy declared. In the Command Center, Alpha watched nervously.
"This will never be a best-seller," the robot predicted. At the book fair, the Rangers had found it.
"Oh, thank goodness," Jason said.
"But is it the right copy?" Adam wondered. Jason opened the book and flipped to the page.
"Yep," he confirmed. He then paid the cashier and they all ran out. Once they were clear, they teleported.
"Hooray!" Alpha cheered when he saw the book.
"We must find a way to free them before it's too late," Zordon told them.
"Huh?"
"Behold the viewing globe." The other Rangers turned around and gasped.
"Oh, no!" Aisha said. Tommy, Kimberly, and Rocky got into defensive stances. If they couldn't morph, they would just have to do their best. The creature charged at them and they kicked and punched it, knocking it down, and then ran off. The Snow Monster roared and increased its power. They three slowed as their vision became impaired.
"I can't see anything!" Tommy yelled, and they all instinctively grabbed on to one another.
"He's creating an avalanche!" Rocky shouted. The snow came down harder and all around them. Kimberly screamed in fear.
TO BE CONTINUED…
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Even though Mr. Caplan was informal with Ms. Appleby, I had her address him formally because he's her boss and having her call him by his first name didn't seem right.
