"What the absolute fuck!" Rocky's voice said over the helmet intercom. His gaze was fixed upon the hoovering Zord, it's shadow covering a third of the city. Around us, civilians also stopped and looked up. Some ran screaming, trying to find a way away from the looming threat. Fear gripped in my chest as I looked around us. There were too many people in Angel Grove to evacuate the whole city. There was no way we would be able to get everyone out in time before Rosita attacked with Serpentera.
"It was a decoy." Billy said softly, his voice sounding melancholy. It was true. Rosita had tricked us with a fake Serpentera. Once we attacked, she must have signaled for the real one. It explains why we didn't have any life readings in the hotel. She wasn't there. She was with the real death machine.
"We need to get these people out of here." Aisha said, the screeching sound of the claws scrapping against buildings as it floated closer towards us.
"There's too many people to get everyone out in time." I replied, hearing the desperation in my voice. "There's almost 500,000 people in Angel Grove. There's no way we can get everyone in time."
"No, but we can at least try." Tommy said, nodding at me. He turned to the kids who were staring up at the sky with amazement. "Connor! You and the rest of your team need to get all these people out of here. There's a school bus garage two blocks from here. Get as many buses as you can and start hauling civilians out of town. Take them as far away as you can." Connor nodded, the grim realization of our situation apparent on his face. The rest of the teens nodded as well before taking off in different directions. Connor and Trent headed off in the direction of the school garage, Rocky and Adam following them. The rest of us began to round people up. It felt like the giant zord was watching us as we did our best to keep everyone around us calm. My heart was racing though as I convinced civilians to wait here while we waited for the buses.
Soon, four long and yellow school buses came speeding around the corner towards us. Stopping in front of the arena, Connor tossed open the door of his bus and started helping people climb on. Trent, Rocky and Adam did the same, the crowd of people slowly disappearing onto the large diesel fueled vehicles. I knew more people were getting on the bus than there was room for but we had no choice. Getting as many people on these busses was our main priority. Once they were filled, Tommy, Ethan and Billy headed off for two more while Aisha, Kira and I rounded up more civilians. People were still coming from the arena, their eyes widening when they saw Serpentera.
"What is that thing?" Kira asked me as she helped a mother and her two children onto the bus that Billy pulled up to the curb.
"Serpentera. It's a Zord created by Lord Zedd." I replied, eyeing the dark thing. "It's extremely powerful and dangerous."
"Connor!" Tommy called out, hopping from the bus he drove back to the side walk. He ran over to Connor who was putting a few more people on his bus. "Find someone who can drive this thing and get them out of here. We can get more busses that way."
"Right, Dr. O!" The teen started asking people if they could handle the bus. A man volunteered, and Connor gave him directions to the highway out of town. The first three buses loaded up and headed out of town. We continued to load up bus after bus while the Zord loomed over head. It was like Rosita was enjoying watching us try to save everyone. Like a cat teasing a mouse with their young.
"What are we going to do, Tommy?" Rocky asked over the intercom in our helmets as we worked. I watched Tommy tense as he helped an older couple onto the bus next to him. He hesitated with his answer, not speaking.
"I don't know." He finally managed to say, turning slightly to look at me. "Every other time we fought against it, we ended up lucky. It would lose its power source or run out of fuel. I honestly have no idea on how to defeat that thing." The six of us were silent, people still bordering the buses.
"Zordon, what should we do?" Billy's voice said, speaking to our leader.
"Rangers, Serpentera's power is great. You will need to find a way to destroy the power cell in the Zord. Without it, it will have no power and no resources for battle. Alpha 5 will scan the Zord now to locate the power cell." Zordon answered. "Until then, keep relocating the people of Angel Grove. A mass evacuation has started on the other side of the city as well with the military. The mayor has been notified and is assisting in our efforts."
"Right." Tommy said, turning to face our group. This round of buses left and six more came around the corner. "Once we clear everyone out of here, we will head back to the Zord and prepare for any battle that might happen. When we find out where the power cell is, we'll split up and destroy it. Without the hotel or Serpentera, Rosita won't have anywhere to go."
"I will keep tabs on Rosita and Serpentera, Rangers." Alpha called. You could hear beeping on his end, telling us he was using the control panel. "If there is any movement, I will alert you at once!"
"Thanks, Alpha." Adam said, nodding towards Billy. We helped the rest of the crowd from the arena into the buses, Angel Grove looking more like a ghost town as we worked. With the mass evacuation going on, it seemed that more people were heading with the military than this way. I suspected it was the destruction of the hotel that caused their fear. It didn't matter as long as they go the hell out of here before all hell could break loose.
The last few people were loading on to the buses when Tommy turned to Ethan, Connor, Kira and Trent. "You guys need to get on too." He said. I walked toward them, stopping next to Tommy.
"No way! We're here to help." Kira said, shaking her head.
"It's too dangerous for you guys to be here without your powers." Tommy urged, looking at the teens. "I need you to go with the civilians and make sure they make it out of here safely."
"We aren't leaving you here, Dr. O. Like you told us before, once a ranger, always a ranger. It doesn't matter if we have our powers or not. We came to fight and that is what we are going to do." Connor said, balling his hands into fists.
"Tommy is right." I said, setting a hand on Kira's arm. "It's not a good idea for you to be here. I know you guys want to stay and help but being a Ranger also means knowing that there's a time and place for heroics. The people on the buses need you to protect them in case Rosita tries to do something as they are fleeing Angel Grove." The teens glanced at each other for a moment before collectively nodding.
"Alright. C'mon." Connor said, pointing at the bus next to them. Kira hugged me tightly before allowing Trent to lead her onto the bus. The boys followed after her, the doors shutting behind them. The air brakes hissed before it pulled away from the curb and us.
"Thanks, Kim." Tommy said, squeezing my hand in his. I returned the gesture, feeling tears tickle my eyes.
"I couldn't let anything happen to them." I whispered.
"Hey. We're gonna win. We have a plan and we know how to take Rosita down." He wrapped his arms around my frame in a tight hug. I heard our helmets bounce off each other with the force but I ignored the echoing sound in my ears. It felt nice to have him hold me and tell me that everything was going to be okay. I knew he wasn't convinced of this himself but having Tommy do his best to soothe me reminded me of when we were kids, fighting Zedd and Rita. We had no clue what the next day would bring us but we at least knew that we had each other before, during and hopefully after the battle. It would be the same now. Pulling away, I looked up at Tommy.
"The answer is yes." I said, gripping his hands.
"What?"
"If we make it out of here, I will take the ring and I will marry you."
"Woah! What?!" Aisha exclaimed, reminding me we were still on the telecom system in our helmets.
"Well, I guess I will have to try even harder now to beat her." Tommy said and I knew he was smiling from the tone in his voice.
"Did I miss a proposal or something?" Rocky asked as the rest of the group joined us. Adam shook his head, resting his hands on his hips.
"You two are the most unsubtle people I have ever met." He muttered, shifting so he was facing Aisha and Rocky.
"Affrimative." Billy said, nodding. "According to the scans, all of the civilains in this area have been removed. We should proceed to the Zords." Tommy slid his arms from around me and turned to face the team.
"Let's do it then."